Ah! My Sempai
by Monou Hakkai
Summary: Rurouni Kenshin x Sailormoon ::Makoto fic:: A short story on who Makoto's Sempai is.
1. ch 1

Ah! My Sempai 1

By: Vash-chan AKA Makoto Almasy

Rating: PG13 

Summary: Rurouni Kenshin/SM.  This is a SHORT story on my view of who Makoto's Sempai is ~in the RK universe~.  

Disclaimer: The well-known characters are not my property.  Only the fanfic idea is mine.

AN: Sempai is tall, has short black hair and 'ice blue' eyes.  There's only one person who fits this description.  

****

Makoto ran like the speed of a lightning strike.  The sense of adrenaline travelled through all parts of her body, forcing each leg muscle to run as fast as possible while they continued to ached in pain.  She couldn't recall how long she had been running from them.  Her mind had been solely focused on drifting those bastards away from town.  Who could resist chasing an attractive Bishoujo? Makoto wasn't surprised that those troublemakers would go after her.  All three men were perverts who wanted to use women as their filthy toys.  The owner of the restaurant, Ayane-san, had been suffering a lot this afternoon because those three guys tried to force her to sit with them.  

Makoto had just finished her daily afternoon training outside when she saw these idiots hurting her boss.  She had kindly asked them to leave, hoping to fix this little scene up peacefully.  But did they listen at all? Of course not.  She expected them to disobey her suggestion.  And this lead to an alternative solution – beat them down one by one till they apologised for being rascals.  However, Makoto wasn't able to do her deed in the restaurant or else she'd be the centre of attention and she didn't like it when many faces watched her fight.  How she battled was private and only ever took place in dark alleyways or in the quieter areas of the forest.  This little chase happened to be one part of her plan.  Well there was something before that as a matter of fact.  One of the men wanted to be nice to Makoto and be a so-called gentleman though she didn't find his generosity convincing enough and pushed him away from her lightly.  Running off from the restaurant was the only action she could think of in order to draw them away from the busy town.  

The last time Makoto checked their bill she remembered seeing four large bottles of Sake written down by Ayane.  Oh…that would explain the sick thoughts these males had today.  They had no idea they were seriously drunk and wanted to enjoy themselves with female company.  Not very gentleman-like now, was it? It was irritating in Makoto's opinion.  What made her more annoyed with these men was how they insulted her because she was a woman who trained in Karate.  In their view, they thought women were still weak no matter what martial art they learnt.  She had never felt this offended in her life and if either one of her parents were alive they'd throw God knows how many kicks into these idiots' faces.  Her father wasn't a chauvinist like these guys and respected all genders when it came to learning martial arts.  Since when did these men know how to fight? From the way they acted in the restaurant it wasn't likely they were fighters at all.  

BUT that was her initial thought after meeting them for the first time.  Realism had hit her the hard way after discovering that these men were fully-trained swordsmen and one of them managed to make the first strike by stabbing deep into her left shoulder, which was the main reason to what made her running much slower than usual.  Cursing herself for being careless wasn't going to make her problems go away and the amount of adrenaline just kept on pumping around in huge capacities.  These Samurai had been holding back in town when they first saw Makoto.  They probably could tell she was a worthwhile opponent in one glance and decided to see what this girl had in mind to take them on.  And running through the forest was her answer in the end.    

Makoto could hear their voices growing louder as she ran down the remote path on bare feet.  Running from town was the right thing to do.  She just knew it.  Nobody was going to be hurt except these guys or herself since they were now in the deeper parts of the local forest.  The chances of death threats or hostages were unlikely, which made things better for Makoto.  At least Ayane wouldn't be in any trouble while she was still at the restaurant.  The trouble had followed the young Karate student all the way here rather than remained in town.  She was the one who was going to get the deadly punishment and so were these Samurai.  Makoto clenched her right fingers into a ball and pressed them hard against the thick branch of a tree.  Her breathing had sped up though it sounded ragged every minute.  It felt like her insides were suffocating and she was losing oxygen fast.  Why did she think it was a good idea to hit them while she ran? That was clumsy of her, wasn't it? It only faltered her concentration on striking her opponents at the right moment.  

Her running had taken her so far into the forest that she didn't have a clue where she was right now.  Was she near Kyoto or still within her hometown Osaka? This was further than her usual training spot for sure.  Her gaze started to become a heavy blur and her cerebral released a giddy sensation while she leant against the tree, catching her breath and regaining her strength.  A little voice forced her to wake up once three pairs of feet came into view.  Makoto's jade eyes ascended slowly to stare at the snarling faces surrounding her.  The expression of delight and victory could be smelt against the men's cheeks and the experience of failure was about to become greater within the only female standing before them.  

The men posing in front of her were much huger than she was.   Muscles could be seen beneath the folds of their robes.  The man to her right was half-bald and had a face that reminded Makoto of a monkey.  The middle guy was tall and skinny and was probably in his thirties whilst the last member of the trio had front rabbit teeth that showed clearly from his upper lip and had loose hair flying over his shoulders.  He was the shortest among his friends.  Although their appearances were not identical, the evil smirks on their faces seemed to be the same as one another and their dark eyes weren't leaving sight of the young girl.  Amusement had somehow turned itself around today and seemed to be growing much more around these men rather than Makoto.  Of course there was no enjoyment for her right now.  Here she was, almost close to losing her breath and her stamina due to the bad behaviour of men who wanted to cause such chaos in her boss' restaurant.  What right did she have to say she was enjoying this? She didn't start this brawl.  They did.

Makoto gave a sharp glare to the three men and didn't waste any time sending more attacks to them.  A side-thrust kick to the skinny dude, two flying jump kicks to the half-baldy man and a roundhouse elbow to the rabbit teeth guy.  She couldn't believe their speed was faster than hers as the attacks to each person deflected immediately.  Everyone dodged out of the way in a casual slide to the other direction and Makoto was in time to land on her feet safely before resuming her assault.  She moved into a front stance and her emerald eyes watched each person again as they held their drawn Katanas at arms length.  They were very skilled indeed.      

"Nice try on outrunning us, Missie," Half-bald guy said, which sent a snigger between the other two standing next to him. "What you did just now to get us away from your pretty friend was a big mistake."

"We're not as stupid as you think," The guy with rabbit teeth remarked. "So why don't you give up and let us take you home?" Hearing Makoto swear at him, his blade swiftly moved across her right cheek and a tiny scratch formed in less than a second.  It was difficult for Makoto to feel the discomfort on her face because the slice was so fast to keep up with.  It took a while for her to feel any soreness whatsoever.  Although there wasn't much pain on her face than in her injured shoulder, she could feel the hot blood slowly leak from the scratch while she stood stationary between the swordsmen.  The blood in her left shoulder hadn't stopped trickling during the time she had been running and the pain wasn't helping her feel better in this fight.  Her concentration wasn't going well because of the distracting smell of blood, as well as the aches in her body.

"Look at you," The skinny dude commented. "You couldn't even dodge that slash." His blade touched the tip of her nose. "You too weak to fight anymore.  Victory goes to us."

"I'm not letting you win that easily," Makoto replied, showing her determination to fight on. "Tch…you deserve to be in jail." They laughed at the empty threat and continuously jeered at her on how she was no match for them because she wasn't strong enough.  So what if she was injured.  Makoto could still stand, couldn't she? They were good at talking crap while she was good at delivering blows.  The blade touching her nose began to poke harder and Makoto clasped her left hand around the sharp end to push it backwards into the skinny dude's nose instead.  He yelled in agony as the bone of his nose pressed inward in a horribly painful position.  Blood was trickling from his nostrils as he stumbled backward, leaving his friends open-mouthed for a short time.      

Yelling out loud to prove she was still alive, Makoto turned to the other two Samurai who charged at her.  She knelt down to evade a strike to her left from the rabbit toothed dickhead and elbowed him hard in the stomach.  Like a note in a completed piece of musical composition, the half-bald guy followed his friend's steps and also came in to attack the female Karate student.  Catching his blade with both hands, Makoto then threw a back-fist to his nose and then a jaw-breaking blow to his chin to finish her damaging strikes.  Her clenched fingers could feel the jaws grinding forcefully against each other once the uppercut connected.  It was likely that he was going to have bleeding gums because his teeth would have bitten the insides of his mouth in a hard manner.

"Who said I was weak?" Makoto uttered offensively.  Both the rabbit teethed man and the half-baldy stumbled against the bushes as they tried to recover THEIR focus.  Looked like their fatigue from running through the forest was finally kicking in at last.  At the same time, the pain from her hard attacks was also affecting their insides like burning fire.  They knew they underestimated her a minute ago, bragging on how she wasn't able to fight them because she was exhausted from trying to outrun her enemies and from attacking them meaninglessly at the beginning.  Then again, she underestimated these Samurai herself and didn't anticipate any strong attacks from them at an earlier time.  However, she wasn't the type to brag on how her martial arts surpassed any legendary figures, including her father's skill as a Karate master.  

She just didn't put her guard high enough when she first met these idiots.  That was *her* mistake but the *real* trouble came in the form of these three men and it was their own fault for starting this fight.  Makoto's anger had triggered some fast recovery time in her body, which was one reason how she managed to make her attacks connect precisely without any immediate errors.  Unfortunately the fast recovering did have its limit and suddenly Makoto's injuries started to hurt her again after throwing some strikes at the two men.  Baka! You used too much effort in one go.  Now I'll really lose this fight She thought furiously.  Her left shoulder had become a heavy weight and was literally pulling her down to the ground in a forceful motion.  It almost felt as though her entire left arm had become paralysed completely.  This was a horrible nightmare!! 

"You bitch!" 

"Huh?" Makoto yelped unexpectedly from a backhanded slap to her left cheek, which caused the cut on her face to enlarge and the blood flow to speed up.  She crashed to the ground and landed first by her left arm, crushing her fingers underneath her hip.  Great! More pain.  How come her afternoon training wasn't helping her out here? Didn't she concentrate properly? She was always alert in the forest when she practised her Katas and meditated alone for two hours.  Makoto would have thought her stamina would be longer than this.  Long hours of training did make her urgency to fight grow by one level sometimes.  Maybe she had used up all her energy in one go prior to this moment.

Her face tilted back up to see who the hell had slapped her.  Swallowing another urge to swear aloud, she recognised the angry face of the third party member – the tall skinny guy who had a broken nose; courtesy of Makoto.  His nose was still flat and had dug deep inside the rest of his face since that little sneak surprise the brunette girl had pulled off.  Who cared about that? He too was on his feet, as were his friends.  The half-bald man delivered a snap kick to her stomach, sending her flying to a willow tree branch.  This day was becoming more and more painful by the minute.  Now she really did feel paralysed all over her body.  None of her nerves seemed to be co-ordinating well to each other.  This did mean one thing though – she was truly weak from tiredness and damage.  

"O-Ow my back," Makoto wasn't able to push herself back to her feet while the three Samurai encircled her hunched figure.  The light reflected brightly into their blades, which blinded Makoto's eyes slightly and made her eyelids shut straightaway.  

"If we can't have you then we may as well *cut you up* to satisfy ourselves," The skinny dude decided.  "Farewell then….AHH!!" 

Makoto opened her eyes slightly to see what the hold up was.  Why didn't she feel any slash fall across her body? There was no time to assume she delayed Death as she watched the skinny man drop his Katana to the ground.  The look on his face showed pure agony and a lot of torturous pain.  Makoto wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him just now as she had her eyes shut for a minute, though took a brief moment to observe this situation with the skinny guy.  An empty gasp was all that came from her mouth when she saw what had really taken place in front of her.  The guy's right shoulder had been pierced, providing a deep red shower of blood to rise into the air and his entire body ended up on the ground alongside his weapon.  It was like her damaged shoulder except she never got a fountain of blood as a result of the gash.   

Makoto wasn't able to see who the hell was doing her work here.  All she could pick out was a fast yet unclear shadow moving like a hungry predator in the shadows.  It was too difficult to see where the person was and what he or she looked like.  But whoever it was, he or she was surely going to get a huge thank you from Makoto when this was all over.  She didn't give a damn who was the helper, primarily because she was busy seeing the half-bald guy and the rabbit-toothed moron struggling to fight this mysterious opponent who had come out of nowhere.  Numerous punches flew everywhere on the remaining Samurai standing back to back as they prepared an attack on the new fighter though with plenty of inconvenience.

It seemed unlikely that these two were going to succeed in defending each other.  This person was too quick for them – and very skilled by the looks of the things.  The half-bald man screamed suddenly when he felt a gigantic slash across his abdomen and, like his skinny buddy laying on the ground right now, a fountain of blood gushed out into the air.  Two men were down! Makoto couldn't believe her eyes.  Was it her father's ghost coming to rescue her? Maybe that was why she wasn't able to see his physical appearance properly – because he was travelling in the air.  However that likeliness disappeared right away when the person's physique became much clearer to her this instant.  She knew right away it wasn't her dad because he wasn't more than 6 feet tall.  And since when did her Father ever wear a white trench coat over his clothes? He never wore long jackets like that and looked cool in them.

Makoto rubbed her eyes for the third time today to make sure she wasn't observing this person incorrectly with a blurry vision.  Nope, the white trench coat was still there so she wasn't wrong on picking out that garment.  She watched in awe at this tall man who stood a few feet away from her.  Unlike these poor guys, he had two swords in his hands, recently tinged with fresh blood.  The rouge stains had to have come from these two men spread across his feet.  It was hard to see his face due to the long dark fringe covering the top of his eyes.  Although his lips seemed completely sealed there were no signs of any sarcasm or delight in moving his sword around – not like those three morons.  It was as though his face was of a stone statue.  

Makoto couldn't help looking at his weapons over and over again.  There was something familiar about those swords he held.  Where had she seen them before though? Her memories weren't functioning well because she could sense her brain informing her to sleep and regain some of her energy.  But she couldn't do that yet.  She had to see who this man was.  Dammit how much blood had she lost today? She must have lost so much while fighting and it was making her tired a lot more quickly.  Her brain wasn't able to tell her nerves to raise her right arm and catch the man's attention but the guy in the white trench coat didn't seem to notice her while he continued to fight the rabbit-toothed Samurai.  

This new guy had truly amazing speed.  Even a martial artist like Makoto herself had trouble catching up with him.  Or maybe it was because she was too tired to watch any more of this.  Her eyelids were losing control to remain open and the vision of the current started to darken her surroundings.  She had no choice.  She had to sleep.  She was too tired and her body ached like hell from being kicked hard against the tree I…have...to….  Coincidentally her eyelids shot straight up when three loud slashes filled her eardrums and then a short choking sound followed after.  Finally the last of these three losers had been beaten down.  Makoto was so relieved – even though she wasn't the one to beat the hell out of them unfortunately.

Now she could die peacefully because her opponents were beaten in the end. "At last those idiots were taken care of.  I'm feeling sleepy…huh?" Both her emerald irises looked back up again, albeit more swiftly since her enemies were badly injured this also meant it was safe for her to be calmer than before.  She was able to see the rescuer more close-up than a minute ago and this sight was fascinating.  But those cold eyes, the stony face…damn Makoto had seen them on time though couldn't recall where.  As he knelt down slightly, the swordsman's emotionless façade met her fatigue gaze.  

"Are you all right?" He asked.  Makoto wasn't sure what words to respond with.  She was having trouble trying to keep a clear sight of this mysterious man.  The words 'Thank you' were what she wanted to say yet no words were expressed.  A gasping cough was her automatic response.  Had her voice gone now? She felt absolutely terrible in all parts of her mind and body and it worsened while she tried to remember who this guy was.  But then it clicked like magic.  

"Hey…y-you're the Commander of the Oniwaban …" Makoto couldn't say another word as soon as the tiredness spread all over her cranium and threw her into immediate unconsciousness.  Her light figure flopped forwards to the ground but the swordsman caught it in time with his left arm to give her a softer landing.  He could see she had lost a lot of blood during a long period of time and it was no thanks to these guys lying beneath his feet.  However the injuries didn't stop her mind from growing weaker till it was nothing because he knew she wanted to talk to him.  Sadly the heavy blood loss had hindered her speech and normal thinking, leading her to extreme exhaustion.  This girl had indeed recognised him and was right on guessing his true identity.  He really was the Commander of the Oniwabanshu, whose name was Shinomori Aoshi.                        

TBC.

Sorry if this sounds weird.  I did say this was going to be short (I estimate 3-4 chapters, if not more – it depends).  Yes as you can see, Aoshi and Makoto do have a small bit of history and I'll be explaining it more in later chapters :D.  Constructive reviews appreciated.  


	2. ch 2

Ah! My Sempai 2 –No, Nii-san it has nothing to do with Ah! Megami-sama o.O-

AN#1: *laughs* I knew someone was going to ask me about the timeline, which was why I decided to put in the following chapter, rather than in the prologue.  Pardon me I'm being evil.  The storyline takes place after Rurouni Kenshin episode 11, which I suppose is a small prelude to Aoshi's return in the Kyoto Arc i.e. episode 33.  The story is only going to focus on Kino Makoto and Shinomori Aoshi hence neither one of the Kenshin-gumi will be included (that'll be in another separate fic, don't worry ^^).  

AN#2: There is an obvious piece of evidence that Aoshi has a caring side - Makimachi Misao, a ninja girl who is also part of the Oniwabanshu.  I read on a site that she was hurt in a much later episode and Aoshi went to see whether she was okay, obviously showing his concern.  Identify him with Kaiba Seto or Fujimiya Ran.  Their younger siblings are what bring out these guys' kindness.  It's much the same for Aoshi because he treats Misao like his Imouto-chan (well for Misao she REALLY loves him a lot).  Another thing, it wasn't his fault that he had become more murderous in most parts of the Kyoto Arc.  Mentally he just wasn't himself ^_^;;.  

****

Makoto's eyelids opened gently.  The first colourful object she saw when she opened her eyes happened to be the huge Bonsai tree sitting by her feet.  She realised she was in the inn, which was right next to Ayane-san's restaurant.  The inn once belonged to Ayane's grandfather before he passed away two years ago and Ayane had been taking care of this and the restaurant at the same time ever since.  She was more hardworking than Makoto.  Her energy was never lost during busy hours.  

As she began to move off the bed, Makoto's green eyes saw that there was a huge red patch staining the bright colour of her Karate Gi.  That was from the gash to her left shoulder.  There seemed to be a thick padding underneath her clothes and it surprised her how there was a huge amount of bandaging all over her body – not just her left shoulder.  Now that she was awake, she felt all parts of her figure had bandages wrapped everywhere, even her feet.  The pain on her spine wasn't present anymore, which was a slight relief considering how very realistic her nightmare on being unable to walk no more was.

Makoto was more relieved when she found she was able to walk normally after the brawl from today.  She stretched her arms into the air to release the aching tension remaining from her long slumber.  The fight she had with those swordsmen took place around the early part of the afternoon so, if her guess was accurate enough, she had been sleeping for at least two hours.  The sky was still bright and clear outside from what she could see through the paper layers of the doors.  The sun was still shining happily in the sky after all.  As the soles of her feet slowly slid across the wooden layers of the floor, she pushed the left door open to walk down the outside hallway, hoping to find where Ayane was.   

It was likely that her boss was in the inn somewhere.  Who else would have put bandages on Makoto when she found her in the forest? Ayane was one of the only people who knew the forest well like Makoto.  She often went there to find the auburn girl if she was training in the afternoon for an hour or two.  While she peeked through the other bedrooms, Makoto started to helplessly reminisce the fight she had against those three Samurai today.  Damn, that blow she got before being kicked into a tree gave her an aching jaw right now.  

"Ayane-san, where are you?" She impatiently whispered, sliding the third bedroom door closed before cautiously walking down.  Both her feet were unexpectedly treading far more silently than a minute after leaving her room and it made Makoto feel like a ninja at night, creeping across the rooftops to search for his target.  Had her fighting senses come back after her goodnight sleep? Makoto wasn't even trying to tiptoe silently.  Her feet almost had thoughts of their own.  Ignoring this crazy idea, she approached the last room at the end of this corridor and decided this was going to be her final stop.  If Ayane weren't in here then it would mean she had gone back to working in the restaurant once having bandaged Makoto's injured body – it was a guarantee.             

There was certainly someone inside the final room at this side of the corner.  Makoto knew it had to be Ayane.  Judging by the sound of the ruffling clothes behind the closed door, she guessed that her boss was tidying up some of the dirty cloths used to wipe the tables after wiping them clean.  Ayane was always in this room, seeing as it was near the entrance of the inn and the exit to the local town.  Makoto slid the door open to greet Ayane, pulling off a bright smile on her face.  

"Hi, Ayane-san!" However, once she said that and focused her emerald eyes more accurately, she knew it was the wrong person who noticed her presence by the door.  It wasn't even a woman who was standing by the door.  Makoto never expected HIM to be there, standing quietly by his bed and giving her an impassive glance over his right shoulder.  It looked like he had been brooding for a while because he appeared to be observing most of the items in the room.

"Okay you're definitely *not* Ayane-san," Makoto said and gulped down the deep embarrassment building in her throat.  She rapidly slid the door shut again and, swearing briefly to herself, fanned her face to get rid of the incoming heat attacking her cheeks.  Unfortunately the flush of humiliation had made her leftover bruises all over her face hurt much more as she stood against the door.  Makoto must still be half-asleep to do something stupid and clumsy.  "I made myself look like a clown there." She lost its balance when the door slid open again.  "Uh-oh." Her arms waved up and down in a struggle.  Makoto was going to fall.  She just knew it.  The floor was going to greet her and then the nightmare of having a paralysed back would return to haunt her.  This was a bad dream, wasn't it? Somebody had to wake her up this instant before her embarrassment worsened.    

Instead of landing on the floor as she feared, Makoto didn't feel any hardness strike her back.  In fact, it was soft – much like the surface of the bed she found herself in.  Two pairs of hands caught her shoulders, being careful to not press against the recovering injury.  OK…so maybe this embarrassment wasn't turning out so bad after all.  Two azure orbs greeted a stunned pair of jade pools.              

"How are your wounds?" Aoshi asked, his voice sounding unemotional as before.  Makoto's head motioned in response to his question, albeit in a robotic gesture as some of her timidity from her silly act just now was flooding back into her as she spoke.  He didn't look offended that she just barged into his room without knocking first.  This guy must be a good actor to convince her he wasn't angry from her rudeness.    

"Uh…I'm okay I guess," She slowly let herself go from his grip to examine her physique carefully in one swift glimpse. He'd probably laugh at her if he saw her face looking more timid. "Yep, I'm pain-free."

"Hey you're awake - finally," Ayane's bright façade appeared out of the blue and a huge pile of folded towels could be seen in her arms.  "Did you sleep well?" 

"Sure did," Makoto smiled back; this time at the right person.  Ayane was a petite woman in her mid-thirties and had a short bob of thick ebony hair that made her much more youthful than her real adult age.  Who couldn't blame any man for trying to catch her attention? "Thanks for the bandages."

"Oh it isn't me you should be thanking." Ayane nodded her face towards Aoshi. "Thank him.  He was the one who brought you to the inn in the first place." Makoto gawped as she turned her eyes back to the man standing behind her.  Hearing that the same guy whom came out of nowhere to give her hand in a fight had taken her to the inn was just not intended.        

Lost for words, Makoto scratched her head shyly to the black haired man then bowed formally.  "Well uh… thank you." Great, she sounded stupider than before.  Couldn't she have shown more gratefulness to this stranger rather sound idiotic? And why wasn't he showing much appreciation to her 'thank you' bow? All he seemed to be doing was staring at the two women, crossing his arms over his chest as if nothing was bothering him.  Maybe he wasn't someone who smiled a lot because he had a lot of other things clouding his mind as a heavy distraction.  Or perhaps he was seldom happy with anything.  Makoto couldn't believe she was studying him in her mind.  She was going to become embarrassed yet again if she didn't control herself and do something to keep any suspicion developing on Ayane and Aoshi.

"Hey, Mako-chan, why don't you give me your Gi to wash the blood stain off?" Ayane suggested.  What good timing Makoto thought.  At least someone was kind enough to snap her out of the tiny observation on the very mysterious swordsman standing nearby.  The petite waitress nudged her elbow into Makoto's stomach lightly in a joking manner.  "It's not polite to dress shabby in front of a guest now, is it?" Makoto grimaced uncomfortably at the cheeky gesture Ayane demonstrated.  Why was this day becoming more awkward by the second? She saw that Aoshi still wasn't offended by any of the events of this amusing show and hadn't said anything since opening the door to his room.

"Fine I'll go change," Makoto replied in a pleasing tone Ayane, shooting a deadly glare to counter the innocent face her boss bared.  The auburn haired girl's angry stare lowered when she glanced to Aoshi once more and said, "We need to talk about…things."

After a long period of silence, Aoshi acquiesced to Makoto's statement by answering, "I can wait."   

****

Makoto brushed back heaps of her brunette locks so it gave her cheeks a breath of fresh air.  The bandages on wounded parts of her physique were removed very quickly before she had put on her kimono.  It somehow made her body feel much lighter without the padding that had clung onto her flesh like plaster.  Ayane had told her she brought her favourite kimono after 'HE' arrived at the inn to let her rest in the second guest room.  Makoto wondered how that woman was so organised.  The former was used to seeing her wash plates, serve customers non-stop in the restaurant during busy times and drying the laundry on the clothes' lines.

It was much the same for Makoto except she was given special permission by the restaurant owner to get at least two hours of private exercise in the forest each day.  It was the only solution to staying healthy for her age and to keep her defences high.  Her hometown hardly had any female fighters around and so far Makoto was the only one who had popped up in the last decade.  Aside from her mother of course.  Both her parents were skilled Karate students who were essentially Makoto's Senseis.  Ever since they passed away, women refused to take up this physical art of combat.  Makoto's mother was almost like a role model to weaker females and proved to them that they could be strong if they defended themselves with a few techniques.    

But when they saw how Makoto turned out from an adolescent perspective, they found the young girl to be a raving monster, which was an indication to the rest of the women that they didn't want to end up like her.  Makoto didn't end up as an aggressive girl from training.  It was already within her.  Who could blame her if she was a tomboy who was taller than most of the female peers? Unfortunately nobody seemed to care about her excuse and called her a deformed monster, which offended her and only made her angrier.  

Makoto checked to see if the green silk was straight in every single part of her kimono.  It was nice to see she could be very feminine.  When it came to wearing her Karate Gi, she wasn't as easy-going as people would expect from typical women.  She was someone who fought to help the weak.  Breathing deeply, Makoto stepped out of her room to spot the patient man strolling on the grass in small steps.  The long folds of his white trench coat rippled against the gentle breeze flying across the air, causing Aoshi to appear as a strong man who had a focused thought in his eyes.  The wooden heels of Makoto's shoes clanged noisily on the pavement as she approached Aoshi while he stood near the trees that consisted of the tiny garden inside the inn.  He was tall enough to pick out leaves from the taller branches that were too high to reach for smaller people like Makoto or Ayane.

Aoshi's blue irises lowered a little to glance at the young female's eyes.  It was hard to imagine how a girl like Makoto was in fact a Karateka underneath the feminine exterior, which was what most men were used to seeing whenever they passed any women down the street.  There was something in Makoto's eyes that told him she wasn't a typical girlie girl.  

"What is it you want to talk about?" Aoshi asked.  To the both of them it was rather evident what this discussion was going to lead to.  It was going back into the past – when her parents were still alive.  Makoto wasn't able to wash off the distractive feeling from glancing at the huge sheath hiding underneath his right arm.  Did he only use one sheath to hold his swords? But most Katanas were long.  It was impossible to put two of those blades into one place.  Unless they were daggers of course then yes, she could see how a sheath of that size would fit his weapons.  

Bringing her gaze back to Aoshi's stern expression (she assumed he was losing his patience when his eyebrows arched down sharply), Makoto started talking, asking if he really was the Shinomori Aoshi that was chosen as the new Commander of the Oniwabanshu at the age of fifteen.  Of course her guess was definitely correct as a result.  Nobody could really forget a handsome yet emotionless façade like Aoshi's.  

It was his turn to question her, "Are you the only daughter of Kino Ryouji? Is your name Makoto?"  She nodded to confirm he was right.  "I remember your father well from the past.  He spread the teachings of Shotokan Karate throughout all of Osaka and gained respect from his students because of his pride and determination.  The previous Commander and the rest of the Oniwabanshu got on well with Ryouji when he was alive."

"Hey you sound like you respected my father too," Makoto pointed out.  Aoshi consented on her obvious thought and stepped away from the trees, moving into the sunlight.  She remembered watching Aoshi being chosen as the new Commander of the Oniwabanshu eleven years ago on the special night.  At that time she was only eight and hardly ever struck a proper conversation with Aoshi because he was always in another place, proving he was always pre-occupied with other activities.  They did see each other eye-to-eye once or twice when her father went to visit the HQ of the Oniwabanshu though there was no verbal contact occasionally between the two of them.  It was unlikely that he would want to talk to her anyway, seeing he wasn't talkative like a few other members of the Oniwabanshu.  She didn't blame him for being so busy either, as she was just younger and at an amateur level of a Karateka and because he was trying to get used to the business within his new job as the Oniwabanshu Commander.     

Makoto was glad they had one similar thing to discuss.  And that was the past on the Oniwabanshu and her father.  She found it overwhelming that Aoshi still recognised her after eleven years and they barely knew each other.  The one thing he did know of her was the father and that was it.  Maybe she meant very little to Aoshi back then.  But why now? Why did he suddenly appear out of nowhere? A very scary suggestion came to mind.  Surely he wasn't searching to kill her after being in the dark for a decade.  What if he wasn't the same guy as before? People did change when they got older, didn't they? OK, she knew she was losing her head.  This guy didn't have the suspicious aura and according to her memory logs Shinomori Aoshi wasn't the kind of man to take her life.  

Their superiors had a special friendship going on.  Respect was a simple thing to accomplish between the older figures.  Even the previous commander was a nice enough man.  Someone she didn't mind calling uncle.  

"Uh…Aoshi-san?" Makoto beckoned him.  Great, now she was being strangely polite to him.  And it was making her blush a lot more.  Aoshi was giving her an unusual chill that was making her nervous.  She hadn't felt such a sensation around any men in a while.  Makoto had to admit her job as a waitress and her Karate training had taken her innocent mind off anything to do with the male population (namely when it involved any guy who had looks to stare at for many hours).  Aoshi's ice blue orbs stared back and awaited the girl to speak further.  Staring into his eyes made her forget every living around her.  "H-how did you find me? You don't know where I live."

"I saw you in the forest," He answered.  As his head turned to look up at the sky, Aoshi's back was all Makoto could see, as well as his huge sheath.  She didn't know why she suddenly grew nervous whenever she saw his weapon stick out more clearly in front of her face.  Maybe she wanted to take a look at his swords.  He seemed to be able to read her mind when he said, "I had just finished a short sword fight with other Samurai and I saw you attacking someone.  Your face was easy to distinguish."

"Really? Oh…" Makoto realised this was why she had smelt so much blood on his blades.  It wasn't only from those three guys who were chasing her.  It was from previous victims to the Oniwabanshu Commander.  Aoshi must have a VERY good memory on her and her father to be able to help someone out like that at such good timing.  

"I think if Ryouji was still alive, he'd ask me to help you," He added, his back returning to face her eyes. "Wouldn't you agree?" 

Makoto had never been so shy in public.  This person was praising her father and she wasn't exactly smiling to show she was grateful for his compliments.  But was it true though? Would her own father, as a friend of the previous Oniwabanshu Commander, ask Shinomori Aoshi to assist his daughter if she needed help? It had been many years since her parents died thus her memory on them had been blank and sometimes inaccurate because she had been doing other things in life.  Then again the Oniwabanshu were probably one of the closest allies her father had as a martial artist so perhaps that was the key point to take in if she wanted to put herself in her father's shoes.  Pondering for five minutes, she then replied, "Yeah without doubt.  I believe in my father a lot, much like how your teammates would believe in you as the Commander of the Oniwabanshu."         

"I see," Aoshi stated then unexpectedly inched closer to her.  His towering height making her more intimated.  His piercing eyes seemed to release a more icicle look as he gazed at Makoto. "I have another question."

"Yes?" She frowned anxiously. 

"How would you feel if I challenged you to a fight?"

"WHAT?!" Makoto gasped in extreme horror by his suggestive query.  This had to be a joke.

TBC

I forgot to mention in my author notes that Aoshi is likely to be OOC throughout this story ^^;;.  I would have put more history on Makoto's family in this chapter but I don't want you to read too much in one go so I've decided to save it for the upcoming chapter. 

_Sarien­-_ LOL.  Indeed I could tell you changed my name after I suggested it in an earlier email ^_^;;.  Yes a lot of Trigun AND RK fans have speculated that Aoshi and Legato Bluesummers are similar through physique and personality.  It's been mentioned on Trigun sites a lot.  As a matter of fact Kenshin and Vash are very similar in characteristic too, as are Wolfwood and Sanosuke ^_^.  'A Burning Desire: The Men of Rurouni Kenshin' is one cool site that explains the similarities between the main Trigun and RK heroes.  Oh yeah Chou (one of the Juppongatana) is a look-a-like of Vash the Stampede.        


	3. ch 3

Ah! My Sempai 3 

AN: Kumite means sparring.  I obtained information from _The Shotokan Karate Association Official Grading Syllabus_ (c) 1994 Shotokan Karate Association.  

**** 

"W-What?!" She shrieked and backed away from him as if he was a dangerous virus.  This was NOT what she had expected to pop up during this nice conversation.  For heaven's sake they barely knew one another back then and had only recently re-spotted each other a few hours ago after many years.  Why did Aoshi suddenly bring up the subject of challenging her during their reminiscence of the past? Wasn't it obvious who would result as the winner if these two fought? Makoto's chest began to burn like a bonfire while she stared up into the pools of ice blue that watched above her head.  She wasn't sure whether to feel insulted or to laugh from how stupid the question sounded.  Right now she was pretty much…stoned.  

Makoto slowed her hasty exhalation and said more calmly, "Not to sound impolite but are you mad?" Aoshi leaned against a tree trunk, crossed his arms over his chest and averted his cold face away to stare towards the sky rather than her.  What was this gesture supposed to mean? Did she make him angry? It was a simple question, wasn't it? Surely it wasn't hard to answer.  Unless the silence meant he was offended, that is.  Maybe that was why he didn't want to reply to Makoto – because he was mad.  Nice one Mako-chan you just got the guy angry she cursed to herself.  This friendly conversation on her family and the Oniwabanshu seemed to be deteriorating to a nastier level by the looks of things. "Hey, listen uh," She scratched her head nervously, thinking of an alternative comment that would get him to look at her again.

"Don't you want to fight me?" Aoshi asked abruptly then cast his eyes back to the curious emerald orbs continuously staring at him in awe.    

"Hey listen I wouldn't mind…" She began. 

"So why do you refuse?" He demanded, not letting her finish her sentence.  His intonation sounded a little impatient.  It was giving her goosebumps down her spine but she was able to give him a proper response afterwards.  

"OK for one, I just got better from a previous fight, thanks to you, and two I'm not even in my Karate gi." Makoto swayed her arms to show off her kimono.  "Besides I'm not THAT strong like you.  I'm only a..." Her voice trailed off when she saw the Oniwabanshu Okashira raise his eyebrows.  Somehow the cold exterior showing around his face gave her the impression that this guy didn't seem to believe her and the scowl around his lips showed he didn't like the last word she stated.      

Her excuse to not fight him wasn't due to the fact she was a frightened coward.  The truth was, she had seen Aoshi in action a few times.  Back when he had just been chosen to lead the Oniwabanshu, Makoto had seen with her childish gaze just how skilled and powerful he was for a young adolescent.  Of course she watched him briefly back in the early hour of the day when he had miraculously found her helpless in the forest while she was fighting some Samurai.  Even though her eyes weren't freshly open, she could tell he hadn't lost his touch after all these years.  He was still as skilled as ever.  Her refusal was down to common sense and generally it was best to avoid as many fights as possible.  Her mother and father had constantly reminded her of that since she began training as a Karateka.  Only fight to protect.  It saved you getting injured far more often.  

"I don't think you're weak," Aoshi commented as he stood underneath the long branches dangling from the tree he was leaning against.  It almost made him appear like a ghost hiding in the shadows though Makoto was still able to see his loose strands of ebony cover his eyes.  She had a hunch her eyeballs were going to bulge out of her face completely if she kept her flabbergasted façade up for a longer time.  Did he just compliment her? Surely it wasn't because he had respected her father as part of the Oniwabanshu disciplinary code – that's if there was such a thing.  Was it simply because of her father? Aoshi moved his back off the tree trunk then re-approached Makoto closely.  A small wheeze came from her lips when his hand touched her left shoulder albeit gently, as the gash to this area remained deep and open; despite the scar that had begun to form bit by bit.

"Uh…" She could only think of saying.  Her eyes didn't know whether to stare into those mysterious cerulean irises of his or at the strong hand that rested on her shoulder.  

"I've seen you fight with my own eyes," He admitted.  Huh? She thought.  Aoshi was saying the exact same thing as her mind had during the past hour.  How spooky.  "I watched you train with your father one night and when he told me that you would grow up to be a true fighter, I knew he meant it." I didn't know Aoshi watched me and Father training! Makoto thought shockingly.  Aoshi then added, "In this present year, you could have easily become a member of the Oniwabanshu.  They would welcome you straightaway…but that's only…." 

Without noticing for himself, his hand suddenly pressed down harder on her shoulder as though it was a heavy rock.  Makoto could see why this action was happening.  His scowl had grown much more bitter by the minute while he spoke.  It wasn't making just him feel pain but it was also affecting her too.  The coldness among his facial expressions had transformed into what looked like anger.  Even Makoto developed that same look whenever anger began to develop all over her face and became instant rage soon after. 

"Uh…A-Aoshi-san," She beckoned to him.  The pressure wasn't becoming any lighter and her body was going to end up deformed if he didn't let his hand off.  "Aoshi-san, IT HURTS!!" He didn't seem to be tuning his ears in the right direction to her struggling voice and Makoto had no choice but to wake hi up.  Her right hand gripped onto Aoshi's wrist, twisted it and dragged his arm away to gently slam him into a tree.  It was a way to distance him from Makoto and for her to recover the painful press to her left shoulder.  The tiny twist wasn't strong enough to break the entire bone connecting his hand and wrist together but she still managed to break off the forceful weight in the end.  "Sheesh, I'm starting to wonder whether you are mad." Makoto slapped her hand across her mouth as she said that after noticing that it would cause Aoshi to give her one of those frightening scowls to her. 

Aoshi's hand concealed his forehead to hide the humiliation he had demonstrated just now.  This must mean that he didn't hear her last sentence (thank goodness).  Luckily the weight had broken off in a short amount of time.  Otherwise Makoto would have an uneven posture around her body.  Pushing the little incident aside, she returned to the main subject of their conversation.  Oddly enough, she could understand why he had lashed out like that from out of the blue.  Anger and revenge must be making him lose his mind and Aoshi wanted to take out the pressure in some way, which did end up being her injured shoulder – not a nice thing to choose now, was it? Makoto's sympathy towards the Oniwabanshu Commander commenced to wash all over her as she stared at him standing by the Sakura tree.  

Apart from observing the attractive exterior of Shinomori Aoshi, she sensed the pain spreading in every single part of his body.  Not just his mind.  The emotionless face wasn't one obvious giveaway to what he was feeling right now.  The strange aura that he was giving off seemed to increase Makoto's awareness of him as she watched the taller man in the white trench coat brood.  

"You don't have to be sorry for what you did," She insisted, hoping to keep the light friendliness going forward between them. "At least you let everything out." 

"I've been though a lot," Aoshi replied behind the palm of his right hand.  

"So I see," She said. "What happened to your men, Aoshi-san? You can tell me." From what she had heard in his short muttering Makoto swore she heard him say his men would let her into the group easily.  Her being a part of the Oniwabanshu…it sounded rather intriguing when she thought about it for a moment however the silliness melted away when she went back to the serious topic going ahead.  There seemed to be something else after that but she wasn't able to pick out because he mumbled so deeply in his throat before attempting to break her left shoulder.  Her question on the Oniwabanshu may have sounded ridiculous to him though the question had to be said, or else her answer would never be given to her.

This time it was Makoto's turn to approach Aoshi and she stepped towards him slowly; caution building all over her as she kept her eyes on the ice blue eyes averting the same direction as her emerald ones.  Who knows what he would do next? He could have instantly assaulted her shoulder again, should he become angered again carelessly.  She couldn't risk having her injury damaged a lot more today so she was ready to defend anytime.  Aoshi's hand left his forehead and fortunately his face had returned to gaze at Makoto's concerned visage.  Looked like the current tête-à-tête was back in business once more.

"I lost my men," Aoshi explained. "They sacrificed their lives to save me." He stated how he, Hannya, Shikijou, Beshimi and Hyottoko were bodyguards to the money-hungry bastard Kanryu, who had used a Gatling gun to wipe out the four men of the Oniwabanshu.  The fists developing in both Aoshi's hands tightened as they leaned by his hips.  Makoto noticed his hands shaking a little while he spoke on and bit her lip in order to escape the understandable feeling of pain and loss.  Crying wasn't going to aid her here.  She didn't give a damn whether her lower lip started bleeding due to a deep cut from her front teeth.  Tears weren't suitable at this time and she didn't want to look foolish in front of someone.  This was a moment when she wished she were able to be emotionless like Aoshi.  Nobody would be able to see her crying at all if she just showed a blank front to everyone in the restaurant.  Makoto could imagine the tears roll down his face even though his pale skin was dry.  She could see the endless anguish floating in his blue orbs as she stared at him in concern.      

Poor Aoshi-san She thought.  Losing an army of men who were close to you for many years was the same as losing your closest family members.  Speaking of family, Makoto decided to tell the Oniwabanshu Okashira how she felt on the day her parents died under the blade of a crazy Imperialist soldier.  Revenge was the only thing on her mind.  Though unfortunately her fighting level at that time wasn't able to surpass the soldier's skill and she was instantly knocked down to the ground to lie beside her parents' dying body, ready to join them in the other world.  However, a small army who were from the Oniwabanshu had come to take out their enemies and killed the murderer during the process; without Makoto having to do anything except get on her feet and say thank you to the soldiers who saved her.  The Gods in the Heaven must have listened to her mother or father's quiet prayer to let their daughter live a happier live than them.  The Gods' solution to this problem was to bring forth a group of lifesavers instead.  It was heartbreaking to lose her parents like that and she wasn't even a teenager yet. 

In these days, whenever a fight had ended and she was the victor, Makoto merely left the bodies to rot or suffer in blood and pain, ignoring the sound of the opponents to finish her off.  Her mother told her never to become a murderer.  Let the victims suffer and they will understand their wrong doings through their pain.  Makoto was following her mother's ideal and still did so up till now.  At least she had been able to have what seemed to be an ordinary life.  She had a job as a waitress and cook in a restaurant, in spite of the historical rumours of her being a violent girl.  People steered clear from her down the street because of that fact and she didn't blame them.  The only person who had no problems for who she was as a person was Ayane.  She was the closest to Makoto's family and had known them since an adolescent age.

Aoshi went on about his main army of the Oniwabanshu, mentioning they were old-fashioned fighters who couldn't fit in well with the public because they were different.  He had refused an offer of becoming a top officer in an army and preferred to train these guys rather than choose the former.  Makoto couldn't believe she was hearing so much from this popular figure.  She could definitely see why the Oniwabanshu picked him to take over as the new leader. Aoshi was a true warrior who didn't care about anything else.  Except to be strong.  He almost sounded like her father whenever he had a macho talk with her after they did two hours of Kumite every night.  But that talk was more on the lines of laughing.  With Aoshi, he seemed determined as a fighter.  Makoto could detect the seriousness within him.        

"I'm sorry for your losses," She eventually responded after he finished his story. "I can honestly understand what problems those guys went through because they were different to everyone else.  Take a look at me.  I am taller than most girls and *much* stronger than them.  They think I'm a monster."

"It sounds like your true skill exists after all," The Oniwabanshu Commander stared at her as though she had come from another planet and Makoto realised that she could be babbling uncontrollably. 

She then understood what the reason was for Aoshi to be staring at her more unusually. "OK I was going to lie to you before about being a normal girl but that was just to uh…decline the offer of being challenged.  Face it, Aoshi-san.  You're an expert in swords.  I'm someone who uses only Karate.  What chance do I have in winning?" 

"I want to see whether your Father's words have still remained alive inside," Aoshi stated, pointing to her chest.  

"What do you mean?" She asked, puzzled.  "Oh no, you're not saying…"

"We should fight each other," He suggested.  Makoto grimaced nervously.  This was another nightmare she had to face right now.  Shouldn't it be sparring rather than fighting? The respected Shinomori Aoshi wanted to challenge her and he didn't want to accept 'no' as her answer.  He sounded quite desperate to get a piece of Makoto.  But why? Was her father a real gossiper during his meetings with the Oniwabanshu? How much trash did he tell them about his only daughter? Makoto had always loved her father since she was an infant.  Surely he wouldn't waste his breath to brag such nonsense to anyone, would he?

"I'm telling you, Aoshi-san I'm not worth fighting *or* sparring with," Makoto insisted innocently.  She sounded like a whiny girl who hadn't reached the age of ten yet.  But she couldn't help complaining here.  Aoshi was going to make himself embarrassed if he found out Makoto was as weak as he was.  And she'd look stupid too. "You're better than me.  I know it from the top of my head."

"It doesn't matter," He said. "I don't see any harm in finding out how skilled the daughter of a respectable master in Karate is.  It's been many years since I met anyone from the Kino family." Aoshi brought his huge sheath forward and was ready to draw his swords out, which to Makoto was a bad sign for her.  She wanted to protest on not wearing the right clothes though it didn't look as though the Oniwabanshu Commander was going to listen more of her excuses.  She had lost the chance to prevent this sparring from taking place.  He wanted to start this challenge right away without wasting any precious time.  The sparring wasn't going to last long – not while Makoto was in a tight kimono.  Uh-uh.  She wouldn't be able to throw a jump kick or a proper roundhouse kick to her opponent like this.  It was a pity that Aoshi couldn't exactly understand that.  Making up such excuses wasn't giving her a lot of assistance here. 

"I hope you're ready, Kino Makoto," Aoshi uttered.  Makoto was nowhere near to being prepared in a fighting stance.  She wasn't going to do this.  She just couldn't.  This was pointless.  It was going to lead to humiliation for sure.  She bit her lower lip harder when she saw the shine of one blade glowing against the light.  Here comes trouble…

"Sorry to interrupt the talk here, people," Ayane's cheery tone echoed out of the blue.  Aoshi and Makoto turned their startled faces towards the inn owner who had appeared by the entrance gate.  "The restaurant has just closed early for today and I managed to cook a special dinner in the kitchen." Her eyes glanced towards Aoshi. "You must be hungry after arriving here.  Why not join us?" 

Sliding the sheath firmly back in place, Aoshi accepted the offer by nodding formally to the older woman.  Ayane giggled to Makoto and strolled back indoors, leaving the other two alone again.  

"Ayane-san makes great food," Makoto said. "You'll love her cooking." Of course she didn't expect Aoshi to smile or express his opinion whatsoever.  Perhaps it was difficult to show appreciation yet easier to show anger or pain.  She wasn't surprised by the empty response he had just shown her.  However, did it even matter? If Shinomori Aoshi was like that then she could deal with it, right? What's more, she didn't want to lose this 'friendship' going on between the two of them.  It was nice to be able to properly speak with the Oniwabanshu Commander after losing that chance from a decade ago.  Ayane's presence had triggered a memory loss in Makoto's mind shortly but she was able to quickly recall what the current discussion was about.  "Listen, if you want to *spar* with me, then why don't we do it tomorrow? I'll be here first thing in the morning, in the *right* clothes.  Is that all right with you?" She searched his face to see him confirm the suggested time of meeting. 

"OK," He answered after a long pause.  

"Thank you," She replied, released a sigh of relief and clapped her hands together happily before showing him where the food hall was.  The size of the room wasn't as huge as the restaurant was but it was large enough to fit in at least twenty guests at a time.  The number of guests staying tonight wasn't huge, which was a good thing because then there would be enough privacy between Makoto and Aoshi, as well as Ayane too.  At least Aoshi was satisfied with Makoto's answer to his question.  Yes he was going to spar with her…but not right now.  That answer sounded reasonable, didn't it?  "Hey, Aoshi-san why don't you stay at the inn for a night or two? You look more exhausted than I do and I don't think our Kumite will be interesting if you're tired, right?" She looked at him with raised eyebrows. 

"I guess you're right," Aoshi replied. "What made you change your mind?" Oh he was back to that subject again she realised.

"Well sparring with the Commander of the Oniwabanshu does sound like a real challenge when I think about it more than once," Makoto explained. "I suppose I want to see what you're like for myself." She winked before offering him his seat by a table in the food hall.  Come to think of it, Makoto had no idea why the excitement tickled her.  She was going to spar with Shinomori Aoshi.  Shouldn't she be worried rather than looking forward to it? He wouldn't *kill* her now, would he? Unless his version of sparring was different to hers.  Nevertheless they were friends plus the fact that he respected her father like the rest of the Oniwabanshu did.   Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as she had feared in the first place.  Aoshi seemed respectable in her opinion.  Either way she hoped this challenge was worth taking.

TBC.

_Lin­- _Glad you liked the characterisation.  I've always had the impression that when Mako is with an older (yet good-looking) guy she *would* become shy, which is normal for any girl.  I bet she was like this around her Sempai.  He must have meant *a lot* to her to get her daydreaming about him each day ~_^.  Most people overlook the fact that Makoto is more serious when it comes to romance and wouldn't always giggle girlishly like Usagi and Minako would.  It's not her fault that she sees Sempai in so many guys.  It's down to tragic romance ;_;. 


	4. ch 4

Ah! My Sempai 4

AN: This chapter is very long due to the sparring between Makoto and Aoshi.   Take your time reading this, ok? May need to use some imagination ^^;;. This kind of stuff is hard to write so I wouldn't blame you for getting confused XD.  If it is confusing I'll try to rewrite it somehow.  

****

According to Makoto's memory logs, last night's dinner with Ayane and Aoshi turned out just fine.  The food wasn't disturbed from the latest guest staying at the inn and the dinnertime atmosphere seemed to appear perfectly ordinary and easy-going.   Well…Makoto wasn't exactly sure if easy-going was appropriate to describe, especially since Aoshi was the guest here.   While the other guests ate their food happily, the table that Ayane, Makoto and Aoshi were sitting at was quite silent.   Not that that wasn't a bad thing of course.   

Makoto could obviously tell Aoshi wasn't interested in having a sociable chat with anyone and preferred to fill his stomach up with the tofu sitting in his plate.  During the dinner hour, Ayane happened to be the most talkative one among the trio, babbling irrelevant questions to Aoshi on his job as the Oniwabanshu Okashira.   Unfortunately the restaurant and inn owner had no idea what kind of conversation had gone on between Makoto and Aoshi throughout the day, thus was blind to see that the swordsman was clearly not willing to discuss about his work whatsoever.  Naturally he didn't want to appear rude so Makoto had to back him up and tell her boss word for word that this topic was confidential.   To everyone else's relief, Ayane believed the honest remark and went on about the weather changes in Osaka.   

That sent her talking for a long time and while she babbled to other guests in the inn on the environment, Makoto and Aoshi had constantly exchanged glances to one another in pure silence.  The only noises connecting between the two were the chewing and swallowing of the huge slices of boiled cabbage.  Makoto's thinking wasn't co-operating very well in her cerebrum and it made her very uncertain to whether this little staring game was a good thing.   It apparently meant Aoshi was communicating with her.   That was a good sign, right? Right through the early hours of evening, she had been slow to finish her dinner because of the exchange of glances to the cold, blue-eyed man sitting opposite her.

The endless gazes were too strong to break out of.   Aoshi's glares were so sharp that they could take you into a faraway land, away from the familiar world of reality.   It was much like a normal daydream people got when they sat and brooded for hours.  Makoto had forgotten at times that she was in a public place where people could easily see what she was up to (even her boss).  Aoshi didn't seem to notice she was making a fool of herself and simply continued to eat his dinner slowly.  From watching him, Makoto saw he didn't eat a lot.  It must be a part of his diet as a soldier of the Oniwabanshu.   Then again, Makoto had her own ways of dieting so she didn't blame this guy for eating very little at mealtime.   

As Makoto previously predicted, Ayane had given permission for Aoshi to stay for a night without having to charge him the usual price.   Naturally he was a special guest in this inn and she knew it would make Makoto a little annoyed to see that her new friend wasn't being treated well enough.  After all Ayane knew the young Karateka was helplessly ogling the young man (no matter how much she denied it) each time she looked at him.   There weren't many handsome travellers who passed this town and Ayane had constantly told Makoto how someone like her deserved to have a decent man to make her happy.  But it wasn't easy to accomplish.  Who would be interested in the violent daughter of a legendary Karate master? A few males were frightened of her aggression whilst the other half of the opposite gender were the ruthless kind and were hardly polite in the manners department.

In other words, they were not the type of guys Makoto would want to spend some time with.  The chances of them being injured from her fists was very high so it was best to find a guy who appreciated both sides of her.  Of course that wouldn't be happening any time soon.   Makoto was always busy with work and of course her training.   Speaking of Karate training, she had spent most of the morning warming herself up for the Kumite with Aoshi.  The thought of having to fight against the Oniwabanshu Commander had never left her mind from the night before and apart from imagining the amazing features of Shinomori Aoshi, she was also imagining how it would look to fight someone like him.

The first reaction that came to her mind when she pictured this was a feeling of nervousness.  Yep, that was the only word she could think from the top of her head.   But then there was also thrill as well.   She was so excited that her fingers wouldn't stop shaking from the moment she got out of bed to the journey of heading into the forest to train for two hours.  Aoshi had agreed to meet her there, first thing in the morning.   Here was the place where nobody was bound to disturb the two fighters.   Ayane would be busy opening the restaurant and cleaning the inn to notice the other event going ahead for Aoshi and Makoto.   She knew the auburn Bishoujo wanted to have a real moment of privacy with HIM but couldn't exactly visualize what those two would be up to.   Poor Ayane had no idea that Makoto's training was going to be in the morning for once, rather than in the afternoon.    

****

Aoshi found the distinguishable figure of Makoto sitting on a huge rock by the river.  Peculiarly, he felt glad that she was back in her Karate gi.  The jade Kimono she had worn yesterday was in some way concealing the inner ability the girl was hiding from public.  Not many knew she was a Karateka underneath the ladylike exterior – except Aoshi and Ayane of course.  The former had wanted to see with his own eyes just how truly skilled the daughter of Kino Ryouji was.  He would have seen her fight for one second before continuing his journey to wherever, though when he saw the real condition she was in yesterday afternoon it only seemed appropriate to get her healed first *and then* make a move to challenge her.  

He couldn't help the curiosity towards Kino Makoto eat within him when he first saw her in this forest.  Yes, it was uncomplicated to recognise who she was from eleven years ago and the past friendship her parents had with the Oniwabanshu's previous commanders was a perfect reminder for him to know that this girl wasn't going to be an enemy.  At first sight, he could see her state was awful, much like how he was after being in a fight against Himura Battousai and when he was shot in the legs from the Gatling gun Kanryu had.  The appearance of a wounded fighter only jogged his memory of seeing the bodies of his own men.   

"Wow you're on time, Aoshi-san," Makoto's fresh intonation disrupted the Oniwabanshu Commander's reminiscing and his azure irises cast themselves to the pair of emerald eyes watching him patiently.   The bloodstain on her sleeve had disappeared like magic and the colour of her entire gi emitted a bright shade of whiteness in front of his cold face.  It was almost as though a new person was born into the world or somebody who had just received a new type of training to become stronger.   On the whole, Makoto looked more confident and powerful than yesterday.   Of course it wasn't merely due to the fact she wasn't wearing her Kimono but because she had a chance to fight again after recovering from injuries.  To her, it felt good to recommence in training once recuperating was over.   Health was important after all.

Makoto slid off the large flat rock her rear had rested on and stood a small number of feet away from Aoshi, instantly moving into an alert stance.   Aoshi saw that she was prepared to begin this Kumite anytime from now.  The smile around her lips had shrunk to a small fraction and he noticed the readiness in all her facial features.  However, there seemed to be a hidden flaw floating somewhere.  In Aoshi's perspective, he could sense a slight hesitation growing by the minute inside Makoto.  A normal person wouldn't have been able to pick this up straightaway and automatically assume this girl was ready to throw some punches in her stance.   But Aoshi had managed to isolate the small problem while his eyes moved up and down in slow motion.  Makoto wasn't one hundred percent prepared for this, which did make him grimace a little.

His shoes clicked hard on the pebbles scattered along the path as he moved nearer to Makoto, whose combat alertness vanished quickly as soon as she realised the Oniwabanshu Okashira had approached her.   Isn't this 'fight' going to start yet? She wondered, her jade orbs ascending up to get a better glimpse at the emotionless façade towering over her.  

"What's wrong?" Aoshi asked.  She looked back into his eyes, unsure of his question's meaning.   He pondered to himself on the possibility that she was playing with him here, trying to get away from this fight before it even began by acting stupid. "Makoto, are you scared to fight me?"

"Huh?" She replied then bit her lip hard, endeavouring not to become lost in time from staring into pools of icy-blue. "Well uh…" Why the hell must she be lost for words at bad times? The guy was going to get really ticked off if she didn't spit the truth out.  Aoshi-san would think she had no pride as a martial artist.   That was what the message was saying across his head.   Makoto could see the invisible ink written all over his forehead and it was making her wince in shame.  Her father would call her a coward if he saw her decline in a fight at the last minute, wouldn't he? 

Seeing Makoto's head gaze to the ground in embarrassment, Aoshi suddenly took his sheath forward and drew his swords out into the open.   The sound of the blades emerging from their hiding places caught Makoto's attention and her face spontaneously ascended to see what was happening.   The sunlight reflected in the two blades and blinded her for one second as she watched the swords being lifted into the air.   

"Oh my…is that what I think it is?" She stared at the left sword more closely.   So they weren't the long Katanas that most Samurai used in battle.   The size of Aoshi's swords was slightly smaller than the normal weapons people occasionally wielded, which was a quite change from constantly seeing small daggers hidden beneath people's fingers or sharp kitchen knives crazy lunatics waved around threateningly.   It had been a while since Makoto had come across a Kodachi.   Or two Kodachi to be exact! How could she forget that the previous Oniwabanshu Commander was also someone who used Kodachi as his weapon? Having Aoshi appear out of the blue had simply made her remember most of her family's past and their respect towards this group.

Makoto was completely taken in by the sight of the Kodachi that she didn't anticipate her left arm being pulled forward abruptly.   Something solid then rested between her thumb and index finger.   She gawked at what had been given to her, as well as the sense of strong fingers grasping around her left hand gently.   An impulsive flush of heat travelled up her back and into her cheeks as she watched the fingers (that had touched her) move away to its original owner.  Surely Aoshi didn't notice any redness spread across her face.  If he did then this fight was going to be harder than she imagined last night.   He must be laughing inside his head from observing the humiliated look being displayed on Makoto. 

"I think this is what you are scared of," He said and stepped back once more to keep his distance. "You're worried that you won't be able to beat me without a weapon so I've decided to be even and let you borrow one of my Kodachi for this sparring session." 

"A-Aoshi-san, are you sure about this?" Makoto queried hesitantly as she passed the Kodachi into her right hand and examined the sword's blade again.   The grip felt much lighter than a Katana and it could have easily been as strong as Makoto's own physical strength when used properly.   This was the second time she had held a Kodachi.   The first meeting with this smaller sword was when Makoto was eight and she only held it once while her mother was outside hanging the clothes on the washing line.  Yes it belonged to Makoto's mother but Himeko never used it as much because the sight of seeing blood stain the blade seemed too violent for her to deal with, which was a primary reason to why she preferred to use physical attacks to knock other fighters unconscious and not kill them.   After both of Makoto's parents died, the Kodachi was sold on the market rather than kept away by the daughter in the present year.

Makoto's awareness was immediately brought back to reality when Aoshi charged in with a downward attack.  Her right arm thought by itself briefly as it flew in to prepare a rising block.   But Makoto had carelessly disregarded the fact that she now held a sword in her hand and rather than hear the slice of flesh connect, she heard a noisy clang of two blades clashing one another.   The Kodachi in her right hand was long enough to defend the vertical strike coming from Aoshi's blade.  That wasn't what she wanted to do though.   Makoto wasn't even ready to start any sparring yet.   Her brain wasn't exactly in its combat state right now.   Her eyes were focusing on her arm and watched the strength from the opposing sword forcefully push against her defence.   Was her entire body going to act by itself now?

"Good block," Aoshi said, reading the puzzlement over Makoto's face.   Some fighters had an unusual reflex and still managed to attack or defend without thinking in their mind first.   

"Aoshi-san, that block wasn't meant to…oh damn!" Makoto didn't have the opportunity to inform him about the automatic block she just did after seeing his right leg rise into a side-snap kick.  Her Karate brain was telling her to dodge the kick before it connected to its target.  As a quick evasion, Makoto was able to bend her upper torso backward and completely miss the snap kick being aimed towards her head.  Her position balanced steadily a few feet above the ground and her emerald eyes watched Aoshi's right foot strike the empty air, half an inch away from her nose.  

Like encountering a breeze, the fringe of her brunette hair flickered gently from the speed of the kick.  That was too close! She thought.  Thank goodness her physical flexibility had helped out in many fights.   Those warm up exercises Father had taught her to do before training were always important.  Suppose she didn't do any stretches first thing in the morning or prior to serious fighting then she'd have a long-lasting backache after bending in that position.   

"Not bad," Aoshi muttered as he brought his right leg back to his body. "Not many opponents I come across do something like that." As soon as he saw Makoto's figure back in its normal posture, he knew she was coming to attack him this time.  Her feet ran in rapid steps across the ground.  Aoshi saw that she wasn't wearing any shoes while sprinting towards him.   Bandages were wrapped around the middle soles of her feet and only her toes remained unclosed.  

So this was how Kino Ryouji taught his students, was it? To not wear anything on their feet and simply provide some covering for them (if appropriate).   Makoto didn't seem to feel any pain as she ran.   Perhaps it did hurt her in the early days but as time went on, the pain on her soles must have lessened and vanished instantly.   To be barefooted was part of a good fighter's training and Aoshi knew he didn't have to go easy on this girl if she trained in such a way.   She looked like someone who could cope with other sorts of pain.   There was something about the girl that made him feel as though she could stay awake in this sparring for a long time. 

If Makoto's memory on using her mother's Kodachi was still clear in her mind, then using this sword shouldn't be a problem at all.   She lunged a strike towards Aoshi's left shoulder but the Oniwabanshu Okashira casually placed his Kodachi in an erect position opposite her would-be target.  She went for the other shoulder though didn't manage to touch it and instead was greeted by the same sword.   The defences were too fast for her to beat in speed as she attempted the lower targets and even the middle part too.   This was worthwhile evidence to show why this guy was a good swordsman.   

"Try harder," Aoshi uttered.  He interrupted her blade's aggressive yet aimless movements and pushed her sword down mightily, making it difficult for her to dash away from any other strikes to the rest of her body.  She spotted a left punch coming towards her right cheek and was unable to use her sword as an alternative defence because it was in a trapped position.   

"Oh shit," Makoto cursed aloud and dived her head to the left hand side to let the punch glide past.  It would be a perfect moment to be able to break her weapon free from the forceful push.  Unfortunately the punch still managed a strike and hit the top right corner of her head, even though she had forced her face to bend forward.  She thrust Aoshi away to let her Kodachi escape his weapon's hold.   Though this manoeuvre succeeded for Makoto, she didn't expect another instant attack to follow up straightaway.   The Oniwabanshu Okashira elbowed her in the stomach then threw a back-fist to her left cheek, which made her topple to the ground clumsily.      

Grabbing the incoming punch with her left hand would have been a risky move and she didn't want to have an awkward back as a result from this counter attack.  Diving in the opposite direction was the first thing that she could think of in an emergency.   Makoto could feel her skin covered with sweat heavily and it wasn't due to the lucky hit to the corner of her head.   Sure she was sweating ever since Aoshi arrived but the amount of liquid all over her face and body had grown during these past minutes of attacking.

She had to take this easy and focus hard, even though this was meant to be Kumite.  This session still had to be treated like an everyday fight, didn't it? The thing was, Aoshi was a different kind of opponent she had never fought before.   So what if the Kodachi was smaller than the popular Katana.   It managed to provide its wielder versatile defence against the attacker and possessed enough speed to consecutively block off another blade's momentum.  So then it would be able to deliver some physical strikes using the arms or feet.   Wait! That was how Aoshi fought his opponents.   Makoto could see why he blocked with his Kodachi and then used physical attacks to attempt to strike her.  This was what the smaller sword had as its advantage.

"Now I get it," Makoto murmured, ignoring the throbbing pain on the side of her head and everywhere else.  She forced her gaze towards Aoshi. "You are really good.   Did you do other martial arts apart from learning the uh…?"

"Apart from the Kodachinitou-Ryu, I learnt Kempo," Aoshi answered the blank part of her sentence.  

"Kempo? Oh no wonder." She recalled his recent attacks one by one in her brain, as well as the pain that each hit had released when it collided with vulnerable parts of her physique.  Her concentration had just awakened a few minutes ago and it took her a while to see how this opponent fought in an individual style.   Kempo was a style that involved the use of fists (and kicks) but sometimes included training with weapons.   It was very common in other countries like China.

Makoto wasn't sure whether Kempo would have been something she had been in touch with.  Karate had mostly relied on your body to attack rather than weapons.   From what she remembered in training with her parents, they didn't use weapons a lot as a defensive source.  "Aoshi-san, I don't think I should be using this sword."      

"You're doing fine, Makoto," He answered.   She stared at him, perplexed.  Did he just compliment her? But she hadn't managed to get a hit on him yet, not even with her sword.  Aoshi's defences were too rapid to beat.  Would it be any different if they didn't use weapons? Then again he was still likely to win without the Kodachi.  Those bodily attacks did hurt Makoto for a few minutes after they freshly struck her. "You don't realise you're using the Kodachi to protect you."

She snorted sceptically. "Hey, you got multiple hits on me, Aoshi-san and I didn't use the Kodachi to defend myself."

"You did in the first part of this sparring, remember?"

Makoto blinked in surprise.  Oh yes! She did…but that was automatic though.  That didn't count as intended defence, did it? Her mind was totally indulged with the grace of the Kodachi sword rather than noticing the fast-paced attack from Aoshi.  She steadily rose to her feet and said, "I think I did defend myself at that point *but* it was my body that did it."

"You're used to fighting constantly, aren't you? Your body reacts more sensitively than a normal person's as a result of this," Aoshi explained.   He didn't continue to give out any more interesting facts as he prepared to attack like before.  This time Makoto wanted to defend when the time was right.   Her head wasn't half-asleep or in another dreamlike state.   She was damn prepared!! The Karateka waited for his next move, her gaze sharpening as though they were the eyes of a predator ready to pounce its victim from behind the bushes.

However, he didn't appear to make an attack head on and instead looked as though he was in a deep trance.  And Makoto thought she was the one doing all the dreaming here.   What was this supposed to mean? Maybe he wanted to do a surprise technique if she was the one to make the first move.   But that was a silly mistake that some careless fighters would do.   Makoto had the feeling it was best to see what he was up to first before even thinking of awkwardly marching in to hit Aoshi.   On the other hand, her suggestion on waiting to see what he would do next happened to be out of the question as she noticed how very blurry his appearance was becoming.

The man in the white trench coat seemed to have multiplied – unless it was down to bad eyesight for Makoto.  She was certain that this wasn't an eye trick because her eyes were fully awake and not blinking nervously.  The many figures of Aoshi surrounded her and swayed like ghosts in a moving circle.  What the hell was this? He was trying to confuse her.  This was the kind of mind game Makoto hated to deal with.   Watch him! Find out when he's going to switch to the offensive side She warned herself.  Having to take part in a game like this needed patience and brains and Makoto wasn't a brainy person, which made it harder for her to succeed.   

Aoshi's figure swayed in all directions and it was making her eyes twirl dizzily.  Her focus had to be regained; otherwise he would attack her without any problems.   No time to waste being affected by the giddiness swallowing her brain up.  Her warning continued to repeat itself in her mind as her jade orbs followed the Oniwabanshu Commander's movements.  The tall branches among the trees stopped moving at the same time when Aoshi's encircling halted in a flash.  That was a quick signal for Makoto.  And indeed it meant he was about to attack.  BEHIND ME! She thought furiously and immediately pivoted on her heels to deflect a very close strike from Aoshi's Kodachi.   He could have easily cut her nose if he was lucky.

Makoto decided to throw a punch with her left arm, clearly aiming towards his cheek.  Aoshi could see he was about to get a hit from her, no doubt.  That was her intended target.  He was prepared to defend with his Kodachi anytime soon! But that's where another trick came into play.  While he may have anticipated a left lunge punch from her, he alternatively ended up being swept off his feet and landed on the ground.   No left lunge punch came to his cheek at all, as he would have expected.   

"Whoa," Makoto simply said.  She couldn't believe she did such a sneaky move. "Oh crap!" Makoto then yelped without warning after taking in a kick to the back of her legs.   'Stupid girl' was all she could say to herself when she tripped over her feet.  Her backside was becoming twice as sore each time it met the ground.   What if all the flesh vanished if she kept on falling like this? Her rear would be so thin and when another silly fall occurred, it would be more painful.

As she stood up again, Aoshi's blade zoomed towards the tip of her nose and Makoto used her free hand to grab the middle of the Kodachi.   Wow, she didn't think it was this cold.   Well it was metal, wasn't it? Why on earth did she use her left hand to grab his weapon? Aoshi wondered.  This wasn't what he had predicted to come out from her.   Was she really stupid? Aoshi didn't like to think she was.   As Makoto had witnessed previously, the Oniwabanshu Commander used a Kempo technique to counter attack the opponent while his Kodachi was in defensive.  In this case, it was an elbow towards her face.  Thankfully her other arm came to the rescue in time and the elbow strike collided with the main blade of the second Kodachi.  Makoto's right arm was, in a way, placed through an upper rising block but it had special back up from the weapon sitting in her hand.   Aoshi wondered what the Karateka was going to do next now that she was in a strong position.   

She was most likely to pull off another sweep since her feet were the only parts available to use for attacking.  Then again…Makoto had other solutions to get a hit in.   She pulled Aoshi's Kodachi from his right hand, tossed it to the ground and, to his surprise, jumped into the air to perform a flying kick, which landed on his right cheek.  How the hell did she do that? The flying smack to his cheek made Aoshi stumble in his posture.  Makoto covered her mouth from horror after seeing another lucky attack go through.   OK that couldn't have been her when she did that.   Something must have possessed her.   She didn't want to hurt Aoshi at all.   This was supposed to be Kumite not a life and death duel.   The thought of being able to get a hit on the guy never crossed her mind…but she DID manage to get a really effective strike on him.

"A-Aoshi-san, I…I'm really sorry.  Did that hurt?" She sounded utterly ridiculous being concerned about the injury.  She seldom asked these questions to anyone, merely because this wasn't an idiot who was fighting her.   This was a friend.  A sparring partner.  He didn't seem to be willing to respond and Makoto had to check for herself how much damage she did.   Dropping her Kodachi as well, she approached Aoshi to check his face.  Without saying a word, he let her move his hand away from his right cheek.   Fortunately there wasn't a very dark bruise developing.   The blow would probably go away in two days time and his skin would be back to its nice, fair colour that Makoto liked to look at for a long time.  That flying kick wasn't meant to be damaging.  It only had half her real strength.  

Aoshi drew back slightly when Makoto's fingers held his chin still; her eyes wouldn't stop examining his face for at least five minutes.   Like the skin on her palm, each of her five fingers had a soft feeling.   It wasn't rough or dry.  Maybe most women had soft fingers like hers, no matter what occupation they had.  Makoto pulled her hand back right away as soon as she saw the icy-blue stare connect to her face.   Yep, that hit wasn't life threatening she finalised in her head.   She didn't want to make Aoshi more impatient with the so-called medical check-up.  

"It wasn't painful," He insisted. "I can tell that kick was weak.   You seem to be able to hide your true strength in your techniques."

"This is Kumite, Aoshi-san," She said. "It means I don't hit hard.   I'm sure it applies to you as well." The pair of emerald eyes stared at him intriguingly, assuming what she had said was also relevant to him.   Makoto had a small hunch that Aoshi didn't want to give her some cuts in the flesh with his Kodachi.  It was a blatant sign to say he was using safer techniques during this sparring session.  Generally they were both doing the same thing to each other, not landing deadly blows that were dangerous and strong enough to kill in one go.  "I'm right, aren't I?" she asked him.  

Aoshi nodded slowly, "Yes.  This is only training." Another wonder came to mind as he observed Makoto.   Was her guard still up? He couldn't help finding out for himself and decided to make another move on her.  

"What the…?" Makoto's face grew with shock as soon as she saw a punch lightly smash into her abdomen.  She actually thought this sparring was over for the day after she started talking politely.   Looked like it wasn't over for Aoshi quite yet.   Recovering from the hit to the stomach, Makoto saw another lunge punch coming at her and used her right arm to perform a forearm block.   Sheesh, that was damn lucky of her to defend quickly.   It took her another five minutes to see that they weren't using the Kodachi this time.  It was simple hand-to-hand combat.  Wasn't it supposed to be even for Makoto and Aoshi now?

"How about defending this?" Aoshi said.  Makoto swayed to the right to dodge a side thrust kick and countered with a jab strike to Aoshi's nose…or at least she tried to.   The target was an instant miss and the Karateka found her left arm being placed in a painful twist, forcing the rest of her body to bend forward.   Damn, he IS good She complimented him again.   Aoshi's hands were placed at some of the vulnerable parts of her arm and the likeliness of breaking it was high.   Her head found difficulty to look up at the face of her sparring partner, though it wasn't too much of a problem to visualise the emotionless façade of Aoshi in anyone's mind.  She didn't exactly have to stare with her own eyes at the man himself.

While holding her arm, Aoshi added, "The timing of your reaction is good, Makoto.  Perhaps you need to think more carefully on where you want to attack rather than just hit anywhere."   Another thought came through for Makoto, giving her a possible escape to this arm hold.  It was risky but she didn't care.  Risky was her middle name.  Aoshi tried to grab her by the right shoulder but she moved back a little to deliver a stomp on the upper muscle of his right leg.  It was his turn to crouch slightly.  However, the scowl of pain seemed to be a lot worse than the moment after Makoto kicked him in the cheek.  This pain was more realistic than before.  Oh dear…what did she do wrong? She knew he must have hurt him somewhere very painful.  As soon as Aoshi released his grip on her arm, Makoto supported him by the left arm. 

"It isn't bad as you think it is," He answered before letting her get a chance to ask whether he was okay.  Makoto didn't understand what she meant until he started to summarize the reason for the wound to his leg.  He told her how he defended Hannya from the Gatling gun and ended up receiving multiple bullet shots to his legs while protecting one of his men.   This poor guy was suffering way too much from the tragic loss of his men.  Why did most of the anguish have to come from that story? It was almost too sad to hear over again for Makoto.  Although Aoshi's wounds may have fully healed on the outside, the pain was still capable of haunting him once in a while – like it did just a minute ago.   

"Well sorry if I hit you there," Makoto said in a light apologetic tone. "But you should have told me you had an injury before we started, right?"

"I told you already.  It's not serious," Aoshi stated, although more rudely.  The Karateka sighed and shrugged her shoulders.   She nodded in agreement after witnessing the willpower in the Oniwabanshu Commander's voice.  She believed his words and knowing a guy like him, he was a determined fighter in his mind as well as his body.  If he said he was okay then that sounded fine.  No point in arguing with a respectable swordsman.   

"You know, I think I've shown you enough of my skill," Makoto stated, removing her fingers from Aoshi's left arm.  She really needed to have a bath.  The sweat had covered her entire body as though it was sticky jelly.   While she walked away, an eerie thought popped into Makoto's brain and she couldn't help sensing that Aoshi STILL wasn't finished with this Kumite.  Something was telling her he was going to attack her again.  And yes, that little voice was correct on the prediction.   Aoshi threw a low snap kick to Makoto's leg, though the latter was able to deflect it using a downward block.   

Fine if he wanted to keep this sparring up for another minute, then that wasn't a problem for her.  Makoto supplied two roundhouse elbows from both her arms towards Aoshi's torso.   She knew they didn't succeed in striking his chest after seeing him step backwards easily without any hard effort.   He really was good without his weapon.   Shinomori Aoshi was extremely skilled.   There was no doubt about it.  He caught Makoto's right arm in the middle of an uppercut and placed it through another hold.  Fabulous, now she was really going to be punished with a broken arm.   He may not be holding back this time.   

She thought her face would meet the ground in one huge thud if he threw her down.  It could also mean she would lose some of her front teeth.  Thankfully it didn't turn out that way.  Instead, as she felt her body being pulled in all directions, her right arm had been twisted behind her back, giving her a lot of discomfort for her physique.   While her head leaned close to the lapels of his coat, Makoto's startled eyes met Aoshi's cold gaze by only a few inches.   The former swallowed an uneasy gulp down her throat as she exchanged a nervous glance at him.

"You're right.  The sparring session is over," Aoshi whispered and released the hold from her right arm.   He was disappointed with the daughter of a Karate master, wasn't he? She could see it through his ice blue eyes.   Who cared about the twisted pain in her right arm? Makoto was more concerned about what Aoshi was thinking right now as he walked off.   Was he angry with her?

TBC.  

The next chapter should be the epilogue.


	5. ch 5

Ah! My Sempai 5 

**** 

Aoshi didn't exchange one other word to her ever since the sparring ended a few minutes ago.  All he did was pick up his twin Kodachi off the ground, placed it back in his sheath then walked ahead without looking back to see his partner standing in a small puddle of perplexity.  Couldn't he have at least said, "Hey let's go?" Well…that was unlikely to come from someone like him.  Aoshi didn't say much to anyone anyway.  Makoto's muscles were completely stiff as though the soles of her feet had been trapped in very sticky liquid beneath the ground.  Wasn't Aoshi going to say anything else? He did talk to her while they attacked each other but after letting Makoto's arm free from the arm lock, nothing else came from his lips. 

He was just walking on until his figure started to shrink from the auburn Bishoujo's eyes and he Karateka wasn't doing a thing about it either.   She had to follow him, didn't she and start her working day as if nothing happened? But then again…did she want to continue sparring with him? It was her idea that this Kumite ended around now and he agreed just now to finish their fight right away.  In one way or another, Makoto sensed that this wasn't what she was feeling bad about.  Who cared when the fight was going to end? The main concern was what Aoshi thought of it all.   Or, more precisely, what he thought about her skill as a Karate student.  This was *his* idea to begin with and he had persuaded Makoto to accept this Kumite many hours ago. 

Maybe Mr 'Ice Blue Eyes' was disappointed, as she had predicted from the very start.   He must have felt ashamed to practise with such a weak opponent.   If this fact was true, did it mean he wasn't going to be friendly towards her anymore? Shouldn't he have listened to Makoto's refusal on sparring? He would most likely not want to make proper eye contact and appear uninterested in having any conversation with Makoto, even though he as a part of the Oniwabanshu loyally respected her family; her father.   Makoto managed to break the hold on her spellbound soles and commenced into a sprint, hoping to catch up with Aoshi.   

The aches in her stomach and arms weren't as painful as before while she ran silently.   Each time her feet clashed with the ground, hardly any loudness came from her soles.  It almost made her like a ninja in the night, trespassing someone's house using stealth as a tool.   It used to hurt Makoto whenever she had to run on bare feet.  What if branches or sharp objects pricked your delicate feet? It would hurt like hell for a few hours and you needed to rest till the rest of the day.   Over the years of training under the supervision of her parents, Makoto had grown used to running and attacking bare-footed.   It only made her techniques stronger.   Nowadays, training without her shoes wasn't a hard thing to do.   

The sunlight had been shielded behind the huge branches of the taller trees, making her running much easier to accomplish.  Being blinded by sunlight while running for a long time only made the fighter more exhausted and lose stamina quicker by the minute.   Thank goodness this morning didn't have a high temperature.   She'd be boiled to death under the heat, as would Aoshi in his trench coat.  As she ran, her voice finally found its freedom into the air and beckoned to the Oniwabanshu Okashira.   While sprinting nearer to him, she caught sight of his azure eyes turning over his right shoulder as soon as his broad back stood still.   The sensation of coldness swept into Makoto's physique as soon as her gaze met his and everything else around her stopped moving. 

Fighting back the shivery sense, she knelt down to catch her breath back.   Even with her head facing the ground, she knew Aoshi's eyes were looking down at her, wondering what an absolute loser this daughter of Kino Ryouji was in his mind.  

"You are slow," Aoshi remarked.  

"Well it wasn't exactly my fault." Makoto flipped her ponytail away from her face as she stood back up normally.  What she said was true though.  It wasn't her fault because she was in a deep trance.   Yes, that was the word.  She was briefly in a world where her confusion had been left to waver by itself.  While there was confusion throughout her mind, there was also something else and it puzzled her thoughts a lot.  Makoto had felt what seemed to be disappointment.  But why? She had to ponder this for a moment while Aoshi set his erect figure to await a response.  It was tempting to argue back and say she wanted to take a small break before catching up with him though it wouldn't sound convincing enough.   As if he would understand what her real reason was for the late departure.  Aoshi didn't seem like the kind to believe nonsense.  

Makoto somehow had an idea to her dissatisfaction.   She expected him to say 'Good work' or 'I'm disappointed in you, Kino Makoto.  You're not as skilled as I thought.' Why couldn't he be straightforward on his opinion of her? She wasn't going to be offended by his answer.   Was she? As long as he responded in some way to her then it would ease the curiosity flying all over her brain.   

"Tell me something, Aoshi-san," She said. "What did you think of the Kumite we did?" His eyebrows arched up.  Another voice in Makoto's mind begged him to say something.   Anything!! She wanted to know what he thought of her as a fighter AND as a person.  The latter would be tricky to get out of him though the fighter part shouldn't be too difficult, if he was willing to tell her what he thought.   Aoshi sighed silently and looked straight ahead to where the likely end of this path would lead off.  Oh no, surely he wasn't attempting to ignore her question.   She didn't want that.  Couldn't he see she wanted to keep this friendly conversation going on? Be honest Makoto urged.  

Maybe her predictions were correct.  He was annoyed with her.  He took up the challenge of fighting her and found out she wasn't good enough to meet his standard.  This was a waste of time for the twin-Kodachi wielder, wasn't it? Makoto couldn't help blaming herself for not impressing Aoshi.  OK not as a charming pretty girl but as in a worthwhile sparring partner.   It was too late to change her mind on this challenge and she had endured the speed and strength this Commander had been well known for on the battlefield.  The Kumite was over now.  Her anxiety on this challenge had faded and Aoshi's opinion was all that was left to make her worried. 

As though he was psychically reading her mind, Aoshi's eyes descended back towards the pools of jade eagerly watching him.  Makoto straightened her posture like a nervous student listening to the angry voice of a teacher.  She didn't anticipate his eyes were going to look this gloomy as soon as they directed back to her face.  Well? What was he going to say? For five minutes, all these two did was stare each other.   Icy blue clashing with sparkling emerald.   Makoto didn't want to stare at him like before, but the power within his eyes was making her stay still and unable to avert her gaze from him.   Was it a good thing to look into those indigo irises? She could never answer this properly.  

Aoshi recommenced his stroll down the forest, much to the utter surprise of the brunette following him.  She was waiting patiently for him to respond and he left her hanging there for a minute, not giving her a proper answer as a result.   Guess this means he's disappointed in me She finalised.   If he weren't going to tell her anything then perhaps it would be better to help him out a little here by being honest herself.              

"You know, I thought it was a real challenge sparring you," Makoto admitted. "It felt different to use a Kodachi in defence." Aoshi looked at her from the corner of his eye.  Hooray, he was listening to her.  Thank goodness she thought. "Don't get me wrong, Aoshi-san.  I like your sword.  It's just that I'm so used to relying on physical attacks.  That's how my parents trained me in Shotokan Karate." She could have sworn he nodded slowly there.  Was he nodding understandably to her? He must have.   The Oniwabanshu were her family's ally after all.   There was no harm in respecting one of many Karate master's offspring.   Aoshi could tell that Kino-san's ideals had been absorbed into Makoto's head.  She thought like her father in the exact way as a Karateka would. 

He automatically pulled back a little once realising that Makoto had tugged lightly on the right sleeve of his white coat.  His stare fixed onto the direction of her finger and saw it pointing towards the river that had never left its sight from either one of them while they had been walking.  However, this wasn't the main river Makoto was pointing to.  She was pointing to a path of pebbles that lead to a cliff, where a small waterfall gently splashed into waves as soon as it connected to the bottom of the ground. 

"After my training, I sometimes meditate here for a while," She accounted shortly. 

"It's to ease your mind, isn't it?" Aoshi responded.    The dazzle in Makoto's emerald orbs grew larger in surprise and delight at the correct answer.  This would explain her strength within her soul, as well as her body.   If she stayed calm after a moment of intense relaxation then it would make her tactical trait more effective.   It wasn't exactly a problem for Makoto, according to Aoshi's perspective, but he could understand much more on how the Kino family trained in martial arts.  This girl was the living proof and she still kept the tradition alive inside of her.   The waterfall wasn't as large as a giant but to fall from a cliff like that would be very painful if the person landed badly.   Or worse, one could die.  

"Feel free to go back to the inn and have breakfast," Makoto said. "I'm going to sit here for at least an hour." Not seeing the secretly stunned reaction on Aoshi's façade, she jumped across the path of huge pebbles leading towards the bottom of the waterfall.  The sound of the small waves splashing grew louder as she approached her meditating spot.  The best time to head to the waterfall was after intense training.  That was when you could really cool yourself off and free yourself from any aches or disturbed thoughts.  Makoto was probably the only person to greet the waterfall and let the natural flow of the moving liquid crash onto her physique.   Not many used this or the river for any particular purpose.   This was Makoto's hiding place.  Only the essence of nature was what observed her (with exception to today where one tall dark-haired stranger was watching her from afar).   

Aoshi was unsure on whether to obey her suggestion on heading back to the inn first while she sat there like a monk searching for enlightenment.   He wasn't even hungry today.  The duration of the Kumite had taken his mind off any food or drink and his primary thoughts were on Makoto.  Sparring with her also made him less discouraged and hurt from the past event that had taken place.  This challenge was worth it in his opinion.  He had never had the chance to fight her father back then because his duty as the Oniwabanshu Okashira had occupied him day and night.   The only ever chance of meeting Kino Ryouji and his family was through brief conversations with the previous Commander.   Quick verbal communication was all Aoshi could do back then.   But in the present day, there was Makoto, whose tall stature easily brought the attention of passers-by.  She was the only living blood of her family. 

Aoshi knew she was tall for an eight-year old though when he looked at this girl at a different angle, he could see she had something nobody else did.   And that was the skill of a Karateka, which would, as time passed, grow stronger by the time she reached an adult age.   So here she was now.  Acting like a normal girl who dressed in a traditional kimono and who trained privately to keep her Karate skill intact.  Aoshi sensed that this girl dedicated her time to her father's teachings.   It was what made her strong inside and out.   Much like Aoshi himself and his men.   Somehow Kino Makoto wasn't fully aware of this and most of the time insisted to Aoshi that she wasn't as good as him in fighting terms.   

The ebony-haired swordsman scanned both sides of his surroundings before carefully stepping onto the pebbled path and walking forwards confidently.   The click of his heels against the rocks' surfaces instantly caused Makoto to open her eyes, breaking the slumber while sitting underneath the waterfall.  She actually thought someone wanted to attack her selfishly during her peaceful moment, but of course her alertness was too hard on her to make this worry come true.   Instead of encountering a crazy lunatic, she was greeted with a distinguishable outline of a tall man in a huge white coat with yellow folds.   What was Aoshi-san doing HERE, by the waterfall? Didn't she just tell him to go back to the inn? Or did he want to do something else with her?      

While sitting cross-legged on the stone, Makoto noticed how Aoshi appeared like a legendary giant, whose stature surpassed the oldest and tallest trees in the forest and was able to look down at the towns at a perfect bird's eye view.  Since he was taller than her, he could act as a shade from the sun, impersonating the gigantic branches that grew long leaves to block out the sunlight beaming down to the bottom of the earth.   

She rose to her feet to ask, "Aoshi-san, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to…" 

"Would it be alright if I join you in meditating?" He questioned politely.   A large yet imaginary question mark flew in front of Makoto's face once she heard him say that.  She didn't feel any pain or heavy wetness attack her back as she stood underneath the waterfall, ignoring the motions of the water's splashing.   What could she say to that command? The timidity around the Kodachi wielder flushed through her system again while her jade orbs observed him at a left-sided glance.  The previous time she blushed was when his fingers touched her hand after lending one of his Kodachi in sparring.  That moment was unbelievable.  She didn't think Aoshi could do something like that.    

He wasn't even touching her right now yet she still felt flustered inside.   Who could blame her? After all, he was physically alluring.   She remembered seeing him in his ninja clothes at the age of fifteen.   His dark hair was long and in a ponytail and his physique was slim with agility and strength, which was all concealed beneath his costume.   The one thing that had never changed from the past was his cold stare.  Makoto never forgot his mysterious blue eyes as a child or his fast movements in battle.   Returning to the present, she smiled warmly then gestured to the empty gap next to her.  Aoshi removed his coat and lowered his sheath before sitting in the same position as Makoto, laying his belongings on his lap.  

"Are you sure you're not worried on getting your coat wet?" She asked.   

"I'll be fine," He answered, his blue eyes disappearing as soon as his eyelids closed. Makoto felt strangely honoured to have someone like Aoshi sitting next to her to meditate.  A feeling of gladness travelled in her senses as she sat still to ignore every living sound around her.  She was glad that Aoshi wasn't heavily angry or disappointed with her lack of skill.   Why else would he want to meditate with her? It must have meant something, right? Maybe he still wanted to be her friend.   Wasn't this all a good thing? Now that this scenario had popped up, Makoto reconsidered the desperation of hearing Aoshi tell her what he thought of the sparring.  Perhaps she ought to have been relieved that he preferred not to tell her of his disappointment. 

Silence scattered between the two individuals as they slowed their natural breathing in their places.  The sound of the waterfall trickled uncontrollably down their backs and met the main part of the flowing river, moving past the obstacles (i.e. the rocks) that blocked it's normal direction.  Even with her eyes closed, Makoto still sensed Aoshi's presence very close to her.   Hang on.  Why the hell was she thinking of *wanting* to be near to him? Shouldn't she be focusing on clearing her mind from anything? It must be her personal thoughts on Aoshi were what clouded her full concentration.    Don't be stupid! She denied her other self.   Yes, the last thing she needed was to start blaming attraction as the problem here.  It was spontaneous and she didn't find it a real bother to her. 

"Makoto?" Aoshi beckoned in a whisper. 

Concealing a gasp of surprise, she murmured a throaty, "Uh-huh" to him.   Despite the loud noise coming from the waves tumbling onto them, she could still hear her companion's voice.   It was like a deep note in a musical composition whilst the sound of the water was the front notes that consisted the main music.   Why was he taking a while to say something to her? Perhaps he was thinking to himself, which would explain the quietness from him.   Hmm…an interesting possibility kicked into Makoto's brain.   If he was silent around her then that would mean he was thinking of something to say or was simply in thought.   Finally, after five minutes of quiet reflecting, Aoshi said, "I think you are skilled – just like your father said eleven years ago." 

Makoto's head straightened and water seeped down her nose and inside of her gi.   What was she to worry on wetting her clothes? They were washed everyday at the inn.  That wasn't her major concern though.  It was what Aoshi had told her.  At last he had told her how he felt this morning.  But it wasn't the answer she predicted.  It was the complete opposite.  He had praised her – for real.  During the Kumite, sure he did exchange some encouraging words to her though they weren't as effective as hearing him say she was skilled and that her father's comments were true.  There was a clear sign of honesty and high opinion towards her family in Aoshi's voice.   It was unimaginable for Makoto to take in.   She found it irresistible to joke "You were slow on telling me this in the first place" though it didn't seem like a good time to be a tease towards a very serious person like the Oniwabanshu Okashira.   

She should say thanks to him, shouldn't he? But the words weren't coming out because the experience of being praised by a respectable figure hadn't vanished already.   Her difficulty was hindered (by pure luck) when Aoshi spoke again. 

"There's another thing," He stated.  More nervousness ate Makoto's insides.  He'd already shown his complimentary side so what could he possibly want to say this time? Makoto had run out of ideas on what he would want to ask or comment and decided to let her mind ease in its thinking process.   She just had to hear him out.  "I wish to see your parents' graves." 

"Eh?" Makoto could only say, stunned and confused.   Her eyes struggled to grow used to the true brightness of the air as soon as her eyelids opened to stare at Aoshi.   Now this was something she never considered to occur during their conversations.  This was the first time someone asked about her parents' graves, rather than any past with them.   Whenever she visited them, she spoke to their tombs for long hours, summarising how her training was going or what her life was like in the present.   Nobody ever came to their graves ever since they first heard of the tragic news.  It was a one-day visit and that was it.  Makoto wasn't just a regular visitor to the forest; she was also a regular to see her parents on a monthly basis.  "A-Aoshi-san, did you just say…"

"I want to show my condolences, if that is okay with you," He added and also revealed his amazing azure eyes.  This additional reason to seeing her parents' graves simply made Makoto much more stunned than ever.  Aoshi was truly someone who amazed her with many surprises up his sleeves.   Aside from Ayane, this man without a doubt remembered her parents when they were alive.  Everyone else in town didn't seem to show true sympathy like they used to.   How could she refuse his kindness? 

"Sure," She accepted with an appreciative smile. "I'll take you to their graves." 

"Why don't we finish meditating first?" He switched the subject. 

"Oh uh…right," Nearly forgetting why she was here, Makoto closed her eyes again.   This time her concentration was definitely kicking in and her mind was far, far away from the real world.    

TBC. 

The next chapter is the second part of the epilogue (no really.  It is).  


	6. ch 6

Ah! My Sempai 6 -epilogue-

****

So many things had gone on in Makoto's life that she had forgotten what it was like to endure tragedy.  That was until Aoshi's story on the death of his men came to mind and when he had mentioned her parents' graves while they sat by the waterfall.  The memory of sobbing by their corpses was too powerful to hide away up till now.  You could never forget the lifeless face of a loved one, even as a child.  The graveyard, which Makoto occasionally visited, was close to the edge of Kyoto, so arriving there by foot would take at least an hour.  But that wasn't important.  Aoshi and Makoto were in no rush to go anywhere else.  Their meditation and sparring had finished early this morning hence they were free to do what they pleased for the rest of the day. 

Makoto had the feeling that Ayane didn't mind the young brunette spending a lot of time with the handsome stranger and insisted that she could handle the restaurant by herself, along with two other waitresses.  Ayane had a sympathetic smile on her face after Makoto said she and Aoshi were going to visit the graveyard.  It had been a while since anyone, other than Kino Makoto, who had gone to that place.  Despite the informal statements on life going on, the daughter of a respectable Shotokan Karate master always went to her parents' graves.  It was a routine she didn't mind doing.

After changing into her Kimono back at home, Makoto had picked out some colourful flowers from her back garden to take them to the graveyard.  She recalled her mother's happiness around different flowers from various countries.  Flowers had amazing beauty in their petals.  That was what Makoto had learnt from her mother as a very young girl.  It didn't take long to find the graves of Kino Ryouji and Kino Himeko in the small graveyard, seeing as Makoto had visited this place more than a hundred times.  

Aoshi took the bunch of flowers from the auburn Bishoujo's hands then knelt down to place half of them in front of the grey-looking tombs.  There were already three flowers embedded in the soil but they seemed to have lost colour and appeared totally lifeless in their crinkled postures.  

"I should have picked some better flowers last month," Makoto uttered regrettably.  Aoshi didn't notice her sarcasm from behind as he placed his hands into a soundless prayer.  Makoto knelt down to perform the same steps, shutting her eyes in the same way as meditating.  She was sure her parents remembered who Shinomori Aoshi was back then.  Her father had one hell of a good memory when it came to reciting his fellow friends in the martial arts land.  He and Himeko must be smiling in Heaven right now since Aoshi and Makoto were right next to their graves, offering them fresh healthy flowers as their gift.  

"I wish them well," Aoshi whispered and got to his feet.  

"Thanks," Makoto smiled and blinked away the usual tears that came out each time.  It was only natural that she cried every month.  Keeping the endless sorrow buried inside honestly did hurt the individual so letting all the secret tears be released into a private land was the best thing to do at someone's grave.  Makoto wondered whether Aoshi had done the same thing for his men.  There was one way of finding out but it could be tricky to do.  She called his name gently and his face turned from the graves towards her instead.  

"You want to see my men's graves, don't you?" He automatically replied.  Wow, he *was* someone who could read minds Makoto thought.  She wasn't the type to snoop around in someone's privacy but Aoshi knew she would want to see them, once paying respect to her parents was done.  He could tell she was going to suggest seeing Hannya and the others from deep inside of her gentle gaze.  There was something about her emerald irises that told him she wanted to show HER sympathy as a thank you gesture.  Furthermore, she had listened attentively to the summary of the tragedy with the main Oniwabanshu.  Didn't Aoshi think she deserved something in return? She wasn't his enemy.  Prior to receiving a verbal reply from her, he led Makoto back into the forest; in the direction they had come taken to come to the local graveyard.  

"Whereabouts are their graves?" Makoto asked.  

"In a remote area," Aoshi answered. "Not far from here." As they strolled through the forest again, Makoto wondered to herself where on earth the Oniwabanshu graves would be situated.  Obviously they weren't in the same graveyard as her parents so it must mean they were in an unknown place.  A remote area, as Aoshi put it.  Maybe these guys deserved some private space of their own if they wanted to rest in peace.    Why didn't Makoto bury her parents in a secret spot where nobody would find them? Oh of course that would have been impossible.  Back then she was a little too young to understand how burying dead bodies was done by adults.  

Makoto wasn't paying attention to the direction they were following and had had to rub her eyes a few times to keep the outline of Aoshi's figure in place.  All she had to do was follow him promptly and they would be there.  This forest was huge and lead from Osaka to Kyoto and Tokyo.  It was barely possible to leave markings or signs for people if they were lost.  You had to use your brain to understand this forest.    

"They are here," Aoshi's deep voice surfaced at last.  Makoto had almost bumped into him after he suddenly confirmed their arrival and stopped walking unexpectedly.  She came forward to spot four huge rocks all standing close to one another.  It was evident to see why not many were aware of these graves.  Makoto had never passed this part of the forest before.  The solitary rocks appeared to be missing something very valuable in their resting places.  Seeing them like this didn't look right at some point.  Why were there no decorations or signs of sympathy anywhere on them?      

"Hey I need to get something.  Be right back, ok?" She ran off to leave Aoshi standing by himself.  The echo of Makoto's footsteps disappeared when the Oniwabanshu Commander's thoughts reverted to the screaming of his men as they took in the numerous bullets flying at them.  This was probably one of the hardest memories to forget in the long-term.  Scanning the single graves one by one, he remembered the comatose states of each person left behind after they sacrificed their lives to save their Okashira.  Makoto came back a minute later, holding something in her hands – small daisies and Sakura flowers.  Aoshi's icy blue orbs widened when he instantly grasped the reason for the flower offering.  When he first buried everyone, he wasn't able to find any flowers to decorate their graves.  But now someone had suddenly decided to take an opportunity to show her respect by giving the fallen men of the Oniwabanshu some flowers of her own.  This was why she had walked off briefly.

"They caught my eye as we were walking down," Makoto said. "These are the best I could find." Once dropping an equal number of flowers beside each grave, she pivoted to Aoshi, awaiting a reaction from the cold-faced man standing above her.  

"Shikijou, Beshimi, Hyottoko, Hannya…you will all have the title of strongest soon.  I promise," Aoshi closed his eyes and clenched his fists firmly.  He was in pain from reminiscing the event again.  Why didn't he release the tears he had been holding back? Makoto wondered worriedly.  *She* was on the verge of crying this instant from watching Aoshi recite the names of his men and looking tremendously hurt at the same time.  Even with the emotionless face, some inner part of his mind was crying heavily.  Makoto could visualize the other half of Aoshi in her imagination and it was hurting her as well as him.  Both their families/close comrades had been lost and they were alone.  

She comprehended his losses and wished there was something else she could do to make him feel better.  The growing sympathy seemed to be overtaking her body by the minute when Makoto was startled by Aoshi's recognisable yet unanticipated stare.  However this wasn't the only other surprise to happen in the same minute.  He took one step forward so that they were less than an inch apart.  Makoto's mouth parted to speak but closed a little from the caress of Aoshi's fingers that spread around her left cheek.  The touches sparked like electricity and sent small impulses in every single nerve.  The fingers that had made the girl blush before were back to make her twice as confused and timid.    

"I have to leave," He said and dragged his fingers away from her face.

"What?" Makoto wanted him to stay longer.  This sudden change had attacked her brutally.  First there was happiness and now there was sadness.  How could this happen? If Aoshi left then where would he go? He could stay in Osaka, couldn't he? His men were gone and the idiot responsible for their deaths was behind bars.  He had nothing to hold him back.  Then again, maybe he wanted to keep on trying to ease his soul – alone.  The likely solution to do that was to keep on travelling until the pain vanished.  Makoto assumed that was what Aoshi wanted to do.  Guess it was the right decision, wasn't it?

"Hannya and the others will not rest peacefully until they become the strongest.  I'm going to keep on going until I can achieve that title," Aoshi stated. "You understand, don't you?"

"Oh of course I do," Makoto swallowed the sadness filling her throat. "I believe in you, Oniwabanshu Okashira." He nodded and set off in the opposite route.  She watched him leave, resisting the temptation to change his mind.  There was no use in doing that.  He looked like a traveller anyway and may not find anything interesting in the town Makoto lived in.  He was a mighty swordsman.  Like Makoto herself, he'd get a lot of attention from the crowd for his appearance.  

Oh no I forgot something she realised.  She chased after him desperately.  "Hey, Aoshi-san!" He wasn't stopping.  Did this mean he was going to ignore her now because he was leaving her? She couldn't let that happen.  "Shinomori Aoshi-san, wait!" Hold on.  Was it how she addressed him? Was there another way to get his attention by addressing him differently? What did he prefer to be addressed as? Oh, Makoto wouldn't know for sure.  She never asked him.  He had to stop and listen to her for one last time.  Something had to be said out in the open.  "Aoshi…Aoshi-Sempai!" 

The man with the cold blue eyes magically turned back towards her so they were less than an inch apart again.  She must have caught his attention by that accidental change in address.  Some tiny voice was telling her to have a go at adding Sempai to his name to see how it would sound.  And by the looks of things, it sounded appropriate and suited him a lot.  

"Um…is it okay if I call you Aoshi-Sempai?" Makoto's voice almost became a squeak when he stared at her.  What was he going to do? He didn't smile to confirm his reply as usual, which made it hard for her to know what his answer was.  He was able to tell her she was skilled - but that took a long time to come out.  How much longer did she have to wait for him to say yes or no to the suggestion of being addressed as Sempai?            

"Makoto," Aoshi said her name in a subtle tone.  Makoto's focus wasn't exactly functioning precisely because she had become lost in his dazzling blue orbs.  Hearing her name sounded too distant to be noticed.   His head bowed down slightly and Makoto was pressed towards him as he embraced her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.  What was happening here?  Makoto couldn't think straight.  Her mouth still hung open in awe while Aoshi's broad physique clung closely to her smaller body.  In this embrace, she was able to really feel how strong he was.  Once again her mind was on another dreamy road and she was lost for words while in Aoshi's arms.  The next thing he said automatically snapped Makoto out of her fantasy and gave her another shock. "Thank you."

"F-For what?" She could only say.

"For listening to me," He answered.  "and for showing your respect to my men." A jolt of pride and happiness flew into her when he said that.  She was glad he accepted her offering of flowers to decorate his men's graves.  As they both pulled away from each other, Makoto returned the intimate gesture by gliding her fingers into the fringe of ebony hanging on the right side of his face and stroked the pale cheek in a similar manner of gentleness.  Wow, she couldn't believe she did that to him.  

Makoto stepped back to bow. "Please take care of yourself Aoshi- …" The rest of the sentence hovered in incompleteness.

"You can call me Sempai."

"Oh…Arigato, Aoshi-Sempai," She bowed once more, this time with more honour and appreciation.  

"Till we meet again, Kino Makoto." Aoshi strolled off without looking back. "Continue to be strong like you are now." This time his departure was for real.  Makoto *wasn't* even going to stop him, no matter how desperately she wanted him near her.  She would have done anything to make him cheered up but this kind of thing was best to be left alone for the individual.  His final words repeated in all parts of her mind.  She should have also thanked him for praising her and advising the Karateka to keep her strength going.  Who would have thought Shinomori Aoshi had that sort of kindness in him? She had loosened him up a little from his depression zone by listening to his story and showed she empathised his every emotion of anger and sorrow.  She knew Aoshi wanted to cheer himself up by continuing to travel alone.  That's who he was – a lonely fighter.  

Now that he had completely disappeared into the forest, Makoto was all alone – just like before.  Right now she was glad to be by herself…because nobody would witness her suddenly bursting into tears in the middle of the road.  This didn't feel like the day she cried at her parents' burial ceremony.  She didn't know why she had this unusual urge to release so many tears.  Something was making her so sad and her brain wouldn't tell her what it was.  All she could do was simply sob and let the salty liquid fall down her cheeks naturally.  But during her heavy sobbing, the answer to her question came out spontaneously.  It wasn't because Aoshi-Sempai had left her already.  She was crying because she forgot to tell Aoshi-Sempai she loved him.    

END.

Yes it's sad.  I wanted to do something dramatic.  Sorry if you're not the type of person who likes that XD.   


End file.
